Posted on 02/18/2009 4:46:38 AM PST by Zakeet
ABC's World News on Tuesday night celebrated President Obama's signature on the 'stimulus' package by devoting a full story to how mayors will supposedly use their portion to create 1.6 million jobs. Fill-in anchor Diane Sawyer recited “the wish list” of “nearly 19,000 infrastructure projects -- roads, bridges, mass transit -- costing some $150 billion” and “the mayors argue that the projects are ready to go and will bring along 1.6 million jobs.” No word about the inevitable corruption as reporter David Muir trumpeted: “Across this country, mayors and governors tonight are pouring over wish lists -- broken bridges, schools, libraries -- all of which need help.”
Justifying the spending, Muir cited replacing “old boilers” at a high school which Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm insisted would create jobs. Jumping to Elkhart, Indiana, Muir listed worthwhile projects and specific numbers of jobs each would supposedly create: “Fixing one of their main streets would cost $34 million and create 858 new jobs. Fixing the city's pumping facility, $9 million, 225 new jobs and upgrading an airport runway: $5.5 million, 138 people to work.” He moved on to Hoboken, New Jersey's $36 million plan to prevent flooding, a project the mayor declared will lead to “several hundred employees being hired immediately.”
Muir concluded by seeing a harmonious match of money and need: “Here, and across the country, a flood of requests from cities in need of help and workers in need of jobs.”
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
It is important to stimulate the economy by placing people on city payrolls.
About $250,000 per new job, apparently.
Most of those jobs will be for the low and under educated—construction and labor jobs. It’s reparations, pure and simple.
OK all able bodied men report with your picks and shovels. Help Obama save the USSA. Workers Unite!
My husband works in a management position for a muncipality. Any money received in the stimulus won’t result in “added” jobs...however, it may prevent some layoffs.
I agree.
About the term ‘under-educated’: I will always consider myself under-educated, and will always seek new education sources for self-study. Always learning, always striving.
That notwithstanding, I understand what you meant when you wrote that term. Mostly, it’s a description of those who stopped learning too early in life. Most of those folks compensate for it by inflating their so-called self image.
First, mayors don’t create jobs.
Second, any road/bridge construction that is “ready to go” has been in the works for years so is in no way, form, or fashion be called new.
That's one heckuva of a main street for small-town Indiana.
When I say under-educated, I mostly meant those who finished learning in 8th grade, but got their GED or high school diploma by the skin of their teeth. As a high school educator, I see the under-educated every day. Many college graduates are under-educated, simply because they aren’t learning anymore. They go through the motions.
Not to mention, the public schools stopped teaching logic and reasoning decades ago. It’s barely included in some Language Arts classes now.
Sad.
I wasn’t too far off, though.
And, then when the boilers are replaced, the roads are fixed and the erosion is topped, what happens to the jobs?
What does the municipality do with a Street Department has 858 employees and no more “stimulus” funding?
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