forget about the levee

this is what the legislature and governor care about! http://www.indystar.com/article/20090208/NEWS08/902080384

so now the colts stadium needs another 43 million dollars and the state is preparing a bailout for the full amount. meanwhile they have promised to spend a meager 1-2 million on the little cal levee, which should ensure its completion within the next 30 years or so.

In the meantime, how many more times will citizens have to deal with their homes being flooded and the state dishing out how many more millions to help in paying those who lost their homes/items in future floods...so pathetic.

Let the owners pay for their stadium...don't we have to pay for upkeep on our own homes??

Well I opposed it then because the old stadium was fine and because it took too many tax dollars needlessly. Now it turns out the legislature for whatever reason was as sloppy as the Congress in putting together a deal sure to require yet more tax money.

Yea it does kinda remind me of the Congressional bailout of the S&Ls as the author alludes to which already needs a bailout of the bailout because the original amount was approved in such haste that it didn't really go where it was supposed to and had no teeth to prevent abuses like paying corporate bonuses with bailout money in hand.

Now somebody is certainly benefiting from the reckless actions of both Congress and the Indiana state legislature but you can bet that few media outlets will have the stones to tell the real truth, much less wage war against the benefiting parties and the guilty legislators who made it all possible. There have been too many supposed "oversights" and there's too much money flowing out of the tax coffers and into somebody's pockets for this trend in government overspending to be quite as accidental as they would have us to believe.

I was modifying my lengthy message, somehow I see there are "/"'s inserted in the old message. I deleted this one, hoping the new one will go through. I did not put any slashes in. Don't know what went wrong, but here's too ya. Hoping the revised on went through.

The phrase was: "If you voted for the Dems don't be surprised when things don't turn out quite as you were led to expect. If you didn't vote at all shut the hell up."

The phrase was: "If you voted for the Dems don't be surprised when things don't turn out quite as you were led to expect. If you didn't vote at all shut the hell up."

Thank you. Doesn't matter what I wrote...this summed it up. You were right, it just stuck in my head, couldn't remember the exact words. According to the phone lines to the White House, apparently those who voted for him, backs up your claim. Including mine, even though I didn't vote for him. I thought I was in the right category, here. Guess not.

And if you voted R- put your head between yer knees and kiss yer *** g'bye... it's gonna be a long bumpy ride!

There ain't gonna be a next time, this time.

UrRight wrote:

The phrase was: "If you voted for the Dems don't be surprised when things don't turn out quite as you were led to expect. If you didn't vote at all shut the hell up."

Thank you. Doesn't matter what I wrote...this summed it up. You were right, it just stuck in my head, couldn't remember the exact words. According to the phone lines to the White House, apparently those who voted for him, backs up your claim. Including mine, even though I didn't vote for him. I thought I was in the right category, here. Guess not.

You might be thinking partly of the signature on the NWI site I had at one time as well. But I have a better idea for a siggy now. Speaking of Obama and Congress - "They are who we thought they were. Too bad you didn't."

Still trying to figure out what Obama's visit to Elkhart, IN was all about. That was a needless expense.

It looks like this stimulous package is full of pork. Instead of dishing it out for emergency things, they keep adding luxury items. Same old, "tax and spend".

It would seem to me that finishing the levee would create as many jobs as paving a road and a lot more important. The thing that really gets me is these are jobs that already exist, this isnt creating jobs this is maintaining jobs. Bring in some incentives to companies that are looking to expand. You then create jobs while building the necessary buildings and create jobs after the building is done.

IS THAT SO HARD TO FIGURE OUT?

So far I dont think this Obama thing is working so well!!

Voter,He's been in office all of 3 weeks. Did you expect him to be able to wave a magic wand and make all the mistakes of the last 8 years go away immediately?

This is going to take quite a while and things are probably going to get worse before they get better. The GOP trying to obstruct everything and hoping for failure doesn't help either.

Sorry if I seem bitter but so far I dont see anything for us people that have played by the rules or for those who are looking for a job. More and more peopple are realizing that this is pork filled so what do they want to do to bring the cost down? Minimize the tax credits for individuals or couples.

Artie60438 wrote:

Voter,He's been in office all of 3 weeks. Did you expect him to be able to wave a magic wand and make all the mistakes of the last 8 years go away immediately?

This is going to take quite a while and things are probably going to get worse before they get better. The GOP trying to obstruct everything and hoping for failure doesn't help either.

Three weeks, Artie? That's the thing, I don't think he's thinking thoroughly about this whole thing, and I don't think it's going to pass the House. The GOP are thinking the same as Voter3 and many others. Creating jobs that last are one thing; afterall, we have those willing to return to work, and do the infrastracture, new buildings (green), what-not. Those guys are layed off right now. Of course, maybe there will be opportunities for the college kids and those who have lost jobs in specialized fields to return to work, once the "GREEN" stuff gets built, but for now, there's hardly going to be enough done right away to help save the economy. It will be just two damn late.

Thousands a day are being let go from their jobs. I want to believe that he will turn this around, and I realize he has done a lot for three weeks, as a new President. I just think he's rushing things a bit too fast, and well, it is going to be way too late for many.

New jobs have to be created. I was hoping he would include some kind of rules about stopping the imports, especially Chinese steel, since they are now laying off at the Steel Mills in Indiana. I would have wanted those rules in place, before they came up with how they were going to get the USA back on the manufacturing slide. We should be worrying about our country first.

Hey what do you expect from a person who claims no lobbyists will be on his staff, then turns around and grants exeemptions to his own rule?

How about Caterpiller claiming they will need to layoff after they say they will not layoff if the package passes?

Or how about putting education, converter box money, money to repair the damage done to the national mall from the inaugeration in a stimulus package?

Ype we have CHANGE alright, same old stuff, different name in DC

As far as the Colts stadium goes, I can see why the state would make sure that is funded more than a levee, since the levee will not pump hundreds of millions into state coffers that a few flooded houses that should never have been built in the first place will do. And until they decide what to do with the bridges that will be lower than the finished levee, they should not even finish building the levee

That's what I meant, Mike. What gets me is I don't think the senate is going to allow this to pass without more compromises before it hits Obama's desk. I think they're still in for a fight.

They claim they are already going to have transparency available - which was to occur a few days ago on the web, and it was noted yesterday, that Obama failed that promise by a few days, so far.

They are giving too much leaverage to distribute the money the way they want...and look how it will end up..Mitch will hide it in his savings account downstate until he deems where it should be spent.

That's where the transparency will end...the state of Indiana isn't exactly open about where all the dough is going, much less the counties...so I don't expect this bill to stimulate.

The only thing to stimulate the economy, is to just rely on tax cuts.

Infrastructure repair is a great way to stimulate the economy, that is if the infrastructure is what needs to repaired, not upgrading schools.

Upgrading schools will not stimulate the economy the way a massive road construction bill will. Construction jobs for bridge repairs, highway/interstate repairs will last far longer and put more people back to work than upgrading technology ever will.

http://nwi.com/articles/2009/02/13/updates/breaking_news/doc49959f8a52db3857998754.txt

You're right, Mike!

Obama claims the plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs, but Republicans said it won't work because it has too little in tax cuts and spreads too much money around to everyday projects like computer upgrades for federal agencies.

"This legislation falls woefully short," said House GOP Leader John Boehner of Ohio. "With a price tag of more than $1 trillion when you factor in interest, it costs every family almost $10,000 in added debt. This is an act of generational theft that our children and grandchildren will be paying for far into the future."

Republicans pointed out a bevy of questionable spending items that made the final cut in House-Senate negotiations, including money to replace computers at federal agencies, inspect canals, and issue coupons for convertor boxes to help people watch TV when the changeover to digital signals occurs this summer.

"This measure is not bipartisan. It contains much that is not stimulative," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Obama's rival for the White House. "And is nothing short -- nothing short -- of generational theft" since it burdens future generations with so much debt, he added.

I am not Republican, nor Democrat; I smell a skunk when I smell one.

UrRight wrote:

They are giving too much leaverage to distribute the money the way they want...and look how it will end up..Mitch will hide it in his savings account downstate until he deems where it should be spent.

That's where the transparency will end...the state of Indiana isn't exactly open about where all the dough is going, much less the counties...so I don't expect this bill to stimulate.

I read somewhere to day that there will be a clause or something similar that require projects to be announced within 45 days of requesting funding or they lose the money.

Quote :

The only thing to stimulate the economy, is to just rely on tax cuts.

This bill provides the biggest tax cuts in history. Kinda makes you wonder why the Repubs are voting against it. Oh,I forgot,the only way they get back in power is if it fails miserably.

But I thought Obama was going to get rid of the "tax cuts for the rich". So why did he sign a bill EXTENDING those tax cuts?

And here is my main problem with the bill, 1,100 pages. Now lets have 535 people vote on a bill no one had a chance to read.

Now where is the backlash on that?


And I love how it will create 3.5 million jobs, yep, laying cat-5 cords in schools is going to create 3.5 million jobs



Oh and why would he go to Elkhart? This stimulus package will not help Elkhart one bit. Know why? Because Elkhart's unemployment is because NO ONE IS BUYING RV's. NO ONE will be buying an RV anytime soon either.

mike3775 wrote:

But I thought Obama was going to get rid of the "tax cuts for the rich". So why did he sign a bill EXTENDING those tax cuts?

A better question is why did almost every Repub vote against it. Could it be that they decided their political ambitions trump what's good for the country?

Well, that's another way of looking at it.

This a.m., on CNN, they flipped to a school in Arlington, VA, and asked what they would do for their school with the stimulous money.

The supt., or whomever, listed a new roof, install sprinklers, new ventilation system. I just happened to flip to the channel, so I don't know who exactly they were flipping questions to. However, it sounded much like, the same all over with this guy adding, "You can add all the programs you want, it won't make a difference if these kids are in a building that needs necessary repairs to bring it up to code." (Not a word-for-word quote).

I just wonder where all the lottery money goes. It peeves me off that they originally stated many moons ago, that all lottery money would go towards schools, to relieve property taxes. Well, where does it go?

I think I'll email the Obama camp on that one. That would call for transparency, and maybe he'd order the states to just allow the lottery to go straight to the schools. Wake me up....I'm dreaming!~~~~~~~~~~~ :bball:

UR, I am pretty sure all the states have done the same thing like Illinois did with the lottery money. It does go directly to the schools, but what Illinois did was then reduce the amount going to schools coming from the state budget (property taxes). This shell game means the schools got the same amount of money as before, but the state had more money in their budget.