The Stimulus Fraud
When Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey said a couple of weeks ago that federal stimulus money was not going to solve Tennessee's budget crisis and that we had to prepare for deeper budget cuts, Democrats essentially called Ramsey a meanie who is out of touch:
"Anyone who suggests that the stimulus package is going to make things worse is out of touch with reality," said House Democratic Leader Gary Odom of Nashville.
Governor Ramsey warned that Phil Bredesen would make the "stunning" announcement that many of the cuts that he said would be off the table because of stimulus money would suddenly reappear. Well, lo and behold-
It appears Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey was on to something when he said about a week ago that the Bredesen administration would soon be announcing that the state’s budget is in such bad shape, because of the worsening local economy, and despite the federal stimulus money that still more cutbacks would be necessary.
Sure enough now the Associated Press (May 7) is quoting Governor Bredesen as saying that layoffs and employee furloughs are back on the table as possible new cuts in the state’s spending plan. AP also quotes Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz saying that the state is still looking for the bottom of this economic downturn.
And here I thought Ramsey was out of touch, but it was Ron Ramsey who said that this is what we would see occur before the budget was even deliberated. Ramsey is not a psychic, he merely understood what any of us who has a yeoman's knowledge of economic reality is forced to face-that the President's "stimulus" isn't going to stimulate anything but more government spending, and in the end will leave us in an even deeper rut than that in which we currently find ourselves.
I'm not sure Ramsey should get credit for stating the obvious, but it is wrong of the Democrats to pretend that this federal money that is coming to us on the backs of the next generation is going to change one single solitary thing about our State budget situation. Delayed reality is still what is actually happening, and to attempt to tell the people otherwise is to perpetrate a fraud upon them.
Labels: Democrats, Economy, Federal politics, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
posted by Deacon David Oatney @ 4:00 AM
1 Comments:
Oats,
I think you miss the point - I don't think that anyone ever claimed that the stimulus funds were going to "solve" the state's budget crisis. I believe that what everyone hoped was that they would help get us through a tough patch in this economy. Even the Gary Odum quote you cite doesn't stand for the proposition you cite it for - Odum simply points out that the stimulus money isn't going to make things worse. he doesn't address whether it's going to make things much better, just not worse.
It strikes me that you and other conservative bloggers have really gone off the deep end when dealing with all things Obama. Whether its mustard or stimulus funds, you cannot accept that Obama might be doing something right. Quite frankly, because it gives you so much heartburn, I'm more convinced that it was the right thing to do. When you start agreeing with Obama is when I'll start worrying about his actions.
Post a Comment
<< Home