Simulating Posting
I must admit that when our Legislative and Executive Branches of the Federal Government pushed through a $787,000,000,000 deficit bill in a matter of 48 hours, I was very concerned.
I must also admit, that when our elected delegations in the House of Representatives and Senate adopted the $787,000,000,000 Stimulus Bill after having five hours to read an appropriation bill that contained over 1,000 pages, prior to voting on passage, I was very, very, concerned.
I also admit, that I was very, very concerned when Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) were the primary authors of this bill.
I was also very, very, concerned if not just a touched bit of upset that upon adoption of this bill, these same elected legislators spread to the far corners of the earth on "official visits" within a few hours following the passage of the bill.
I was also very, very, concerned, when this Appropriation Bill was past because it was a "Crisis" and then sat on the desk of the President from Friday through Monday.
I was also very concerned and really upset (better word for it but not quite appropriate to use) when I discovered that this 1,000 page appropriation bill that allocates $787,000,000,000 was being taken to Denver, Colorado for the President to sign into law. It really upset me when I considered the cost of launching Air Force One to fly to Denver for a signature and photo opportunity. Not only did this cost upset me, but the cost to the City of Denver and the State of Colorado also upset me. I figure that the President's trip to Denver to sign this bill cost the tax payers roughly $3.5 million dollars. What was wrong with a nice little setting in the Rose Garden or perhaps even the Oval office? The only justification that I can see in using Air Force One, a Boeing 747, to fly this bill to Colorado for signature is that it was the only aircraft that had the capabilities of hauling the sheer weight of the 1,000 page bill.
As you can see, I spent the better part of my last week, very concerned.
But on this beautiful, clear but cold Sunday morning I feel much better about the entire Stimulus Package, I now feel stimulated. In front of me, I have a copy of some of this Stimulus Money that will possibly affect the local communities of Alaska. As indicated, a total of 2,799 jobs are going to be created in our local communities from funds provided by the Stimulus Package. Presently, a total of $415,682,000 is allocated to community stimuli in Alaska. Using my little pocket calculator, I figure that is only a cost of $148,563.97 for each job created. That is a stimulating figure.
I am even feeling overly stimulated when I discovered the disbursement of these funds and the list of projects that are being requested. From the allocation of $415,682,000 dollars the City of Anchorage is going to receive only $415,682,000 dollars as part of their stimulating projects. Again, using my little pocket calculator, I compute that to mean that ~ oh no, there is zero balance for the remaining 731 communities in Alaska! Who is that new Democrat Senator that was elected last November to represent the State of Alaska? I am not sure, but I think he was the Mayor of Anchorage at sometime in his political career. What a coincidence!
Looking at just a few new jobs being created in Anchorage, there is an allocation of $318,000 for the Anchorage Domestic Violence Prevention Project which will create three (3) jobs. The Greenbelt Trail Resurfacing and Bridge Repair project that is allocated $3,000,000 but it is going to create 20 jobs. How about a new Bus Warm Storage for Expanded Fleet, that is only going to cost $20,000,000 and create 40 jobs. However, it will not be going to waste because $7,700,000 is going to be spent for bus replacement with zero jobs created. The list continues but just those examples are enough to stimulate me.
In my hometown of Anchor Point, we are going to also stimulate our economy, on Tuesday I understand we are going to have a cookie sale in order to raise enough money to buy a new flag for our school. Nothing more stimulating than a fresh baked chocolate cookie.
