Fewer Jobs, More Unemployed Since Democrats’ Stimulus Passed Less Spending, Earmark Reform Can Start the Return to Fiscal Integrity
This week marks the first anniversary of the stimulus plan championed by President Obama and Democrats in Congress. When Obama took office, he promised a new era of hope, change and responsibility. What has actually happened since the Democrats passed their nearly trillion-dollar stimulus is nothing more than a return to the status-quo of more government spending and ever-increasing deficits, with no real benefits for Americans.
Millions of Americans remain unemployed, and our economy remains stagnant, despite the promises of President Obama and the Pelosi-led Democrats. Promoting a business climate in which our small businesses can thrive and create real private sector job growth, ending runaway spending and returning to the founding principles of this country are things I hope to change when I’m elected to the U.S. Senate.
Obama promised the creation of almost 3.5 million jobs. Instead, America lost an additional 2.9 million jobs. The President promised Kansans that his stimulus package would produce 33,000 new jobs in the Sunflower State. Instead, Kansas lost more than 47,000 jobs and 101,000 residents remain out of work (an increase of 12,000 over a year ago).
When Obama was touting his stimulus plan last year, he promised funding would be used for “shovel ready” projects designed to create large numbers of jobs and complete important projects. Instead, taxpayer money was spent on a new government web site ($18 million), to send casino employees to a seminar ($68,000), to build a bike path to a Taco Bell in Massachusetts ($4 million), to provide free concerts in San Francisco ($25,000) and to study foreign cultures ($8.2 billion), including whether Asian dragon boat racing will enhance the lives of cancer survivors.
One way to put the country back on the track of fiscal integrity is to start with earmark reform. In 2009, earmark spending by Members of Congress totaled nearly $20 billon. According to a recent analysis by the Heritage Foundation, if earmarks were eliminated in next year’s budget, and total spending adjusted accordingly, the one-year savings would be greater than that expected from the President’s proposed freeze, which is expected to save only $15 billion in the first year.
That’s why I’m a supporter of the Congressional Accountability Act to stop wasteful spending on earmarks. This is why I was only one of seventeen Congressmen to oppose every bailout and stimulus package.
