Let’s do a quick run-through of economic events from the last year:
1- Banks begin to collapse along with the housing market and the stock market, and wave after wave of layoffs are seen. Bankruptcies and foreclosures are soon to follow.
2- Congress (mind you, this is still during the Bush administration) rushes to pass what has become known as the “Bailout Bill,” which pumps over $700 billion in taxpayer dollars into banks and lenders…with almost no oversight, no rules, no strings attached. The bill has substantial support from both Republicans and Democrats and is signed into law by President Bush.
3- A number of scandals erupt when banks continue risky practices, engage in frivolous spending (ie. junkets and planes) and award giant bonuses to the very executives that nearly sank their companies, along with the U.S. economy. It also becomes clear that the money was not adequately tracked, and that billions may be unaccounted for.
4- Barack Obama is elected President.
5- Congress passes the legislation that has come to be known as the “Stimulus Bill” which awards over $800 billion in taxpayer dollars into federal programs and state budgets/programs. The bill passes…with ZERO votes from Republicans.
6- Several Republican Governors, not coincidentally those who might be presidential candidates in 2012, say they will reject the stimulus money, despite the dire financial straits of their budgets and the suffering of their constituents. Most will later quietly take the money, or their state legislators will vote to accept the money anyway.
7- Many banks report that they are again stable, and pay back billions in bailout money back to the federal government.
8- The economy continues to decline, but at a slower rate.
9- By July, 2009 the economy sees the leading economic indicators rise for the third straight month in a row. Most economists declare that we have averted an economic collapse, or at least the severe economic depression that would have resulted from inaction. These same experts speculate, on average, that the recession will be over at some point in 2010.
10- Republicans fault President Obama for the failures of the Bailout Bill (unjust for three reasons: first, they give him none of the credit for its successes…and second, because it was enacted prior to Obama taking office…and third, most of them supported it). Republicans also declare the Stimulus Bill a “failure“…ignoring all economists, ignoring all economic data, and while simultaneously taking credit for the programs it funded in their states.
Let’s look at the grand hypocrisy embodied in item 10 above…as well as some responses:
- Several Republican governors took a novel approach to the Stimulus Bill. Step 1 -- Deny that you need the money (even though your state REALLY DOES). Step 2 -- Quietly take the money anyway, or wait for your state legislature to override you and take the money. Step 3 -- Complain about how useless the money is and the failure of the Stimulus Bill…and campaign around your state, taking credit for all the stimulus-funded programs and projects. It is the the quintessential example in politics of “having your cake and eating it, too.” Bobby Jindal of Louisiana wrote in a column that “the nearly trillion dollar stimulus has not stimulated“…but that “things in Louisiana are looking up.” Why are things “looking up” in his state? SIMPLE -- there are some great new/reinvigorated programs and projects…funded by the Stimulus! According to Think Progress, Jindal has been travelling around his state handing out big checks, loaded with Stimulus money, for “job training programs, housing assistance programs, homelessness prevention programs, police training, criminal justice technology upgrades, and community development block grants, Jindal has been printing his own name on the checks and taking credit for the money. For example, Jindal presented Lafayette with yet another jumbo-sized check that contained at least $2,125,584 in Recovery Act funds. Though the money came from spending policies authorized by the Recovery Act, Jindal did not appear to credit the Recovery Act at all. And although the state stands to gain nearly $8 billion in federal funding from the Recovery Act, Jindal was one of several GOP governors to try to block the measure earlier this year.“ Here’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Jindal’s hypocrisy:
- Governor Rick Perry of Texas, the same one who wanted to secede from the U.S., turned down Stimulus Bill money to extend unemployment benefits, then turned around and asked the federal government for money…to extend unemployment benefits. In other words he wanted to be able to say that he rejected the Stimulus Bill…and have the money, too!
- Governors aren’t the only ones “rejecting” the stimulus and then taking credit for the benefits of the stimulus. Representative John Boehner (R-OH) has called the Stimulus Bill a “failure” and has said of his home state, “Ohio, the infrastructure dollars that were sent there months ago…there hasn’t been a contract let, to my knowledge.“ Of course, he was a little bit off…there have been 52 road projects worth a total of $84 million dollars. Way to keep up with what is going on in your state, John. Also, Boehner has freely taken credit for other projects around the state…projects paid for with stimulus money.
- Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) called the Stimulus Bill “wasteful spending“…then bragged about a local harbor project that the bill paid for. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) said that those you supported the bill should be “embarrassed“…then two days later signed a letter asking for Florida to have immediate access to the money, and called it “critical” and “vital.“ Senator Kit Bond (R-MO, voted against the Stimulus Bill and said “this bill stimulates the debt, it stimulates the growth of government, but it doesn’t stimulate jobs,” then he went on tour in Missouri bragging about all the housing and jobs that the bill would create. The hypocrisy in detail, here.
- On Friday, some House Republicans went so far as to say that the stimulus is a “dismal failure.” Unfortunately for them..the Associated Press decided to rain on their parade by publishing ACTUAL FACTS. In responding to the claims of Representative John Mica (R-FL), senior Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and his fellow GOP representatives, AP reported:
“MICA SAID: Transportation money is slow to get out because of “red tape” slowing things down.
THE FACTS: Republicans are correct that only a small percentage of the $48 billion in transportation money has been spent. But red tape is a red herring. In fact, stimulus projects have to be ready to begin quickly. Projects that have yet to clear permitting, environmental review or other bureaucratic hurdles won’t get funded because they won’t meet the law’s deadlines.
Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., said “doing away with all the environmental restrictions” would speed up stimulus spending. That mischaracterizes both the stimulus and the environmental review process.
Since 1970, federally funded projects have required reviews to ensure they don’t harm the environment, public health or safety. It’s not just about saving endangered species. Environmental restrictions prohibit developers from building highways in areas that would pollute drinking water or send water flooding into nearby basements.
Eliminating those restrictions would eliminate the public’s right to review and object to projects before they’re built.
Even if those requirements were waived for stimulus projects, however, it likely would not matter. A May report by the White House Council on Environmental Quality found that no stimulus projects have been substantially slowed by environmental reviews.
Mica is correct that the stimulus added some new bureaucratic requirements, but those are primarily oversight rules that require states to report where the money is going and how many jobs are being created.
The fact is, Washington is releasing transportation money at an unprecedented clip. Why haven’t states spent it already? First, contractors have to bid on the project, to ensure politicians aren’t steering money to their cronies. Also states don’t typically spend all their money until a project is completed, even though people are already working.
Mica pointed to the collapsed Interstate 35 bridge in Minnesota, which was replaced in less than a year, as evidence that Congress can speed up transportation projects when it wants to. But that’s a mischaracterization. Minnesota received no federal environmental waivers. Minnesota kept the new bridge the same as the old bridge, so new environmental effects were deemed to be minimal.
The real reason the bridge went up quickly? Contractors worked around the clock and through the coldest stretch of winter to finish the $234 million job, spurred on by a $25 million bonus for finishing early.
REP. MARIO DIAZ-BALART, R-FLA., SAID: “There is a new definition for dismal failure: Stimulus. This stimulus.”
THE FACTS: The argument is based on the idea that unemployment keeps going up despite the transportation spending. That’s a non-sequitur. The $48 billion in transportation money represents just 6 percent of the total stimulus. A far greater share of stimulus money, $288 billion, was spent on tax cuts, and conservatives would never accept the argument that rising unemployment proves that tax cuts don’t work.
The fact is, Republicans don’t need to create mathematical head-scratchers to criticize the stimulus. Since President Barack Obama signed the stimulus into effect in February, the nation has lost more than 2 million jobs and unemployment has climbed ever higher. The administration’s claims that the law has created or saved 150,000 jobs is based on a misused formula and the number cannot be verified.
Whether it’s today or in 2012, voters can judge the Obama administration on real job numbers, not rosy White House estimates or gloomy Republican numbers.
REP. CANDICE MILLER, R-MICH., SAID: Transportation money is not going to areas that need it most because spending was based on an antiquated formula.
THE FACTS: She is correct. Because states have to spend the money quickly, they are steering money to projects that are ready to go. Often that means projects in wealthier areas that can afford planning. So, counties with high unemployment are not favored when money is spent.
Changing the formula to favor needy communities would have solved this, but it would not have been easy and would have slowed down the process even more.”
- The truth: the Stimulus Bill has bolstered unemployment benefit programs, stabilized many state budgets, created many projects, saved many jobs, created many jobs, and has funded much needed infrastructure projects that result in greater safety, energy savings, cost efficiency, and security. AND…the Republicans critical of the Stimulus Bill KNOW THIS and are only too happy at the result the funds have had in their states, and they are only too willing to take credit for these measures…even though they voted against the bill. It’s only when they are on the “national stage” that you hear them decrying the package as a “failure.” The Democrats…are sick of hearing it, and recently released the following TV spot:
Of course, the GOP is banking on three things.
ONE: Americans demand instant gratification…since the Stimulus Bill didn’t immediately end the recession and give everybody their jobs back, many people will deem it a failure, based on their unrealistic expectations.
TWO: Most Americans pay less attention to economic news and know less about business and finance then they do any other topic. They become immediately disinterested when told the facts about the American economy…they just know how it “feels” to them. And since it still “feels” like things haven’t changed, many will assume that the Stimulus Bill failed.
THREE: People rarely give credit for causing something “not to happen.” Economists may agree that measures the administration took prevent a crisis worse in severity and longer in duration…but your average person (particularly your average ignorant person) won’t acknowledge this.
Well, my fellow citizens, take heart: the indicators are up, and the economy is slowly and steadily improving. People are being hired. Stocks are climbing again. Layoffs are decreasing. Homes are being built. And most analysts agree that, somewhat miraculously, an economic mess that it took FOURTEEN years or more to create…will be largely resolved at the end of ONE year. If you won’t give credit to the current administration for that…then who are you going to give it to?