A Dozen Fun Facts About the House Democrats' Massive Spending Bill

1. The House Democrats' bill will cost each and every household $6,700 additional debt, paid for by our children and grandchildren.

2. The total cost of this one piece of legislation is almost as much as the annual discretionary budget for the entire federal government.

3. President Obama has said that his proposed stimulus legislation will create or save three million jobs. This means that this legislation will spend about $275,000 per job. The average household income in the U.S. is $50,000 a year.

4. The House Democrats' bill provides enough spending - $825 billion - to give every man, woman, and child in America $2,700.

5. $825 billion is enough to give every person living in poverty in the U.S. $22,000.

6. $825 billion is enough to give every person in Ohio $72,000.

7. Although the House Democrats' proposal has been billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, in actuality only $30 billion of the bill - or three percent - is for road and highway spending. A recent study from the Congressional Budget Office said that only 25 percent of infrastructure dollars can be spent in the first year, making the one year total less than $7 billion for infrastructure.

8. Much of the funding within the House Democrats' proposal will go to programs that already have large, unexpended balances. For example, the bill provides $1 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which already have $16 billion on hand. And, this year, Congress has plans to rescind $9 billion in highway funding that the states have not yet used.

9. In 1993, the unemployment rate was virtually the same as the rate today (around seven percent). Yet, then-President Clinton's proposed stimulus legislation ONLY contained $16 billion in spending.

10. Here are just a few of the programs and projects that have been included in the House Democrats' proposal:

* $650 million for digital TV coupons.
* $6 billion for colleges/universities - many which have billion dollar endowments.
* $166 billion in direct aid to states - many of which have failed to budget wisely.
* $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.
* $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters.
* $200 million for the National Mall, including grass planting.
* $400 million for "National Treasures."

11. Almost one-third of the so called tax relief in the House Democrats' bill is spending in disguise, meaning that true tax relief makes up only 24 percent of the total package - not the 40 percent that President Obama had requested.

12. $825 billion is just the beginning - many Capitol Hill Democrats want to spend even more taxpayer dollars on their "stimulus" plan.

Inauguration Thoughts

Next Tuesday all of the choirs of angels in heaven will rejoice in unison. The snow will melt, flowers will bloom, birds will chirp and people will dance as the United States of America celebrates the inauguration of the 44th president, Barack Obama.

Mr. Obama has big plans and he plans to hit the ground running. America will no longer have to worry about paying their mortgage. President Obama will reign in the horrible evil banking corporations that are forcing Americans to uphold the agreement they made with the banks when buying their house. Americans will no longer worry about the rising cost of fuel. President Obama will create strenuous regulations on the oil companies that are unfairly taking the money of Americans in return for the goods and services requested of them. Americans will no longer worry about getting sick or injured. President Obama will have the health of every American in mind when he implements his health care system that creates yet another government agency to be run by sub-standard staff providing sub-standard care.

Mr. Obama’s plans are lofty and the cost will be even higher. He will have to outspend his predecessor to barely scratch the surface of the mountain of promises he made on the campaign trail. Fear not. It’s not the average American that will be footing the bill; the evil rich Americans will be paying for everything. The Americans that went to college have a career, live responsibly and have prospered will now have to provide for their neighbor’s family as well as providing for their own.

Margaret Thatcher is quoted as saying “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money”. I don’t know if she actually said it, but it’s the truth nonetheless. Americans and American politicians alike are only concerned with the immediate future. The “what’s in it for me?” and “how will this benefit me now?” ideology is very much the fashion these days and it is no more apparent than by the election of a charismatic rock star senator with no political track record aside from campaigning and a socialist agenda that caters to the fears and weaknesses of the electorate.

January 20, 2009 marks the beginning of a dangerous road that can be navigated but only by the few of us that see the distant future and have made plans that will help our children pay the tab that this President is going to leave them with.