Will fiscal discipline mean longer Bread Lines?

Despite the demagoguery of TARP and the Stimulus by establishment Republicans, and the Tea Party movement that is being co-oped by the GOP, one of the things that is keeping people fed is TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). 

So, with Tea Party candidates poised to have a better than noticeable presence in both the House and Senate, banging the drum of "No Compromise" with Democrats or the White House, what does this bode for the nation's strained social safety net? 

In today's Roanoke Times, there's an article on the modern-day version of Depression Era Bread Lines.  Despite the so-called waist and failure of the Stimulus, TANF funding, along with Unemployment and a whole host of other programs, have been a life line to millions directly impacted by the Great Recession.  These programs are in the cross hairs of the Tea Party Movement and the GOP Establishment. 

The reality is that contemporary Bread Lines exist.  But what if the Stimulus had not passed?  How much longer would they be? 

TODAY IS ELECTION DAY. 

VOTE YOUR FOR YOUR PRINCIPLES AND YOUR HUMANITY. 

GO VOTE! 

Ca$h for Clunkers UPDATE: Program gets a $2 billion High Octane boost from the House

The House of Representatives voted today to divert $2 billion in funds from a U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee program to the "Cash for Clunker's" program. Now, if there was some way to show the Blue Dogs and the Republicans that the Public Health Insurance Option is a good thing and the Federal Government won't come between you and your doctor, and is Deficit Neutral, then maybe they'd move this fast too?

Not too bad for a Federal Government bureaucracy that can't do anything right.

Cash for Clunkers out of CA$H already?

It seems that the much debated program to incentivize consumers to trade in their gas guzzling vehicles, those that are at least 10 years old and get 18 mpg or less, for a new fuel efficient vehicle has been the best stimulus package to date. After less than a week, the $1 billion set aside for the “Cash for Clunkers” program is running out of money. I will have to admit that I was skeptical at first about how many people would take advantage of the program, being that the national unemployment rate is approaching 10% and tens of millions more people are having to take mandatory furlough days or have their hours reduced. I didn’t think that most people, who are struggling to make it through the toughest economic conditions since the Great Depression, would be able to fit a new car into their tight personal finances.

Taking another look at this, when you are getting a $3,500 to $4,500 refundable voucher for the program, and there are thousands of dollars of manufacturer and dealership rebates, this might be the right time to buy a new car or truck that gets more than 25 mpg. The original amount proposed for the program was $4 billion. Both the Obama Administration and the Congress will probably have to revisit this to add more money and extend the program. There are a lot of up sides to this:

• It puts money into the hands of consumers to purchase a big ticket item.


• These purchases will help save and even create jobs at a time when the nation continues to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs.


• Those jobs saved or created will provide a desperately needed shot in the arm for the nation’s consumer confidence (people will spend more money).


• The money spent by consumers, plus the money spent by workers whose jobs were saved or created, will begin to ripple through the economy (this is a good thing).


• The newer, more fuel efficient vehicles will mean less money spent on gas and more money to spend on other things.


• The higher fuel efficient vehicles will reduce the amount greenhouse gases produced by the traded in, gas guzzling cars, trucks, and SUV’s.

These are just my back of the napkin thoughts on the positives of the program. While consumer debt will go up a little bit, the money gained by overall savings at the pump, plus the jobs saved or created as a result of the program, will be spent on other things and even go to paying down other debts in the long run.

Picture found at: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/1980-1989-ford-trucks-44.jpg

South Carolina Legislature and SC Supreme Court smack Gov. Mark Sanford for turning down Federal Stimulus Fund to help SC Public Schools

Even the Republican controlled South Carolina legislature knew better than to turn down Federal Stimulus money that needed to go to their crumbling schools. And this guy is a potential Presidential Candidate for 2012? When the other two branches of state government and your own political party tell you that you are wrong to be pig headed, then maybe they’re right. But Sanford just doesn’t get it.

The two-term Republican said he would abide by the court ruling, but called
it a bad day for South Carolina and the country.

"This decision is terrible news for every taxpayer in South Carolina, and
even more so for future taxpayers who will ultimately bear the responsibility of
paying for this so-called 'stimulus' without seeing any benefit from it," he
said in a statement.

A bad day for South Carolina? Wouldn’t see any benefit from it? Educating kids won’t yield benefits for South Carolina? I think he can kiss is aspirations for President good-bye. I hope we don’t have anyone like that in Virginia. Oh! My mistake. We do. The entire Virginia Republican Party.