Today a reporter asked Robert Gibbs, Obama’s press secretary, to explain the $200 million for the National Mall in Washington.
He actually tries to justify it as a means to create new jobs.
REPORTER: Clearly with the contraceptive decision, the president is open to revising some component parts of the stimulus
GIBBS: I think that’s accurate.
REPORTER: And to pick up on the phrase you used before, look at the whole package through the lens of what’s economically productive. Does the President believe some other spending that’s been criticized – $200 million for the National Mall, $44 million to spruce up the exterior of the Agriculture Department….
GIBBS: Let’s talk about the Mall for a second.
REPORTER: Okay.
GIBBS: When we met on the first day of our presidency, we were on the Mall. Right? 1.8 million people stood on the Mall, which happens to be the most visited national park that we have. Right? I think that you can make a very credible case and the economic team has, that reconditioning the National Mall will create jobs. Probably through spending in small businesses.
Since when is the Park Service a small business? I mean the money will go there, not to small businesses. Sure, they’ll buy some grass seed from private businesses, which will take from existing inventory — not create new inventory or new jobs — but then the work will be handled by the government, which likewise will not hire new people to do the job.
So how again will this create new jobs? And even if it did, exactly how many would it create and how long would they last? Will we have to keep reseeding the lawn to keep the people employed?
These guys really do have no clue. And it is another reason the GOP should oppose the stimulus plan and be proven right when it fails.
At least some reporter is paying attention
angryred Tuesday, January 27th at 5:32PM EST (link)n/t
1-20-13 Hope for Change
Is renovation of the Mall....
Ned Reck Tuesday, January 27th at 5:57PM EST (link)Any different than John Thain’s renovation of the Merrill Lynch exec offices? That renovation also created jobs…
BUT…. there is a big difference.
John Thain used Merrill Lynch’s money… not “taxpayer dollars”…. back in early 2008 before the financial excrement hit the oscillating rotor.
But where is the media and liberal hoopla over the Mall funding?
I tell you where it is. The private sector is the “root of all evil” in the eyes of the liberal Democrats.
Ned Reck
“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security.” ~ Ben Franklin
One other difference...
The_Gadfly Tuesday, January 27th at 6:18PM EST (link)Apparently Mr. Thain has decided (or had decided for him before he resigned) that his judgment in spending Merrill Lynch’s money was of sufficiently poor quality so that he is going to personally pay for that renovation. If I could get the same guarantee (they’ll resign if it doesn’t work and then pay for the whole thing from their personal fortunes) from Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and the rest of the Dems about their stimulus package, I might be a bit more willing to consider letting them go forward with it.
We’ve been called racists enough now that it shouldn’t bother us any more.
-AChance, http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/11/03/what-men-may-do-we-have-done/#comment-24463
If NY23 was a beat down for Conservatives, what do you call what happened to Progressives in NJ and VA?
inspired by ColdWarrior, http://www.redstate.com/hooah_mac/2009/11/04/ny-23-the-agony-of-defeat-not-so-much/#comment-156
Your difference on where the money comes from
hmmcontrib Tuesday, January 27th at 7:22PM EST (link)is kinda meaningless, since we are debating the government stimulus. We already know it’s not going to be private sector funds. The concern, and the line from Erick’s OP, was “He actually tries to justify it as a means to create new jobs.” The concern is the effect, not the source. We all know where the money is coming from.
If Merril Lynch’s money redecorating can stimulate the private sector, why not these funds?
Defense by Rush, no less: “Obama was angry that Merrill Lynch used $1.2 million … to remodel an executive suite. Excuse me, but didn’t Merrill have to hire a decorator and contractor? Didn’t they have to buy the new furnishings? What’s the difference in that and Merrill loaning that money to a decorator, contractor and goods supplier to remodel Warren Buffet’s office? Either way, stimulus in the private sector occurs.”
Rush even mentioned (erroneously, I believe) that TARP funds were used to pay for it. They weren’t, but he mentions Merrill spending it loaning the money out and someone else doing it. Isn’t that the stimulus?
I got Erick's meaning...
Ned Reck Tuesday, January 27th at 9:41PM EST (link)And just added my own additional comment… which is what the comment section is for, I believe.
There is no outrage at government stimulus (be it family planning, mall decoration, Acorn funding, etc.)… only at private sector spending (e.g., Merrill). To liberals… stimulus can only emanate from government.
BTW…. Rush corrected himself today… indicated the Merrill office remodeling occurred January ‘08… long before TARP.
Ned Reck
“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security.” ~ Ben Franklin
It'll cost $200 million just to clean up after the inaugural slobs
6eorge Jetson Tuesday, January 27th at 6:05PM EST (link)</Snark>
Really! Did you see the photo at Americanthinker.com?
phred Tuesday, January 27th at 8:23PM EST (link)The place looked like Hiroshima.
Liberalism: Equally shared misery.
I think that in honor of Obama,
The_Gadfly Tuesday, January 27th at 6:14PM EST (link)and in keeping with the new non-partisan approach to politics, that whenever Republicans object to one of Obama’s boondoggles they should vote “Present” instead of “No.” And that any squish who isn’t willing to stand with the party in voting “Present” on key votes, should lose his chairmanships, regardless of what mangled word(s) Pelosi and Reid use to describe them. And the first opportunity to show this new non-partisanship is the so-called “Fiscal Stimulus.”
We’ve been called racists enough now that it shouldn’t bother us any more.
-AChance, http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/11/03/what-men-may-do-we-have-done/#comment-24463
If NY23 was a beat down for Conservatives, what do you call what happened to Progressives in NJ and VA?
inspired by ColdWarrior, http://www.redstate.com/hooah_mac/2009/11/04/ny-23-the-agony-of-defeat-not-so-much/#comment-156
The National Mall is, after all, the Center of the Known Universe. nt
Vladimir Tuesday, January 27th at 6:16PM EST (link)There is no opinion, however absurd, which men will not readily embrace as soon as they can be brought to the conviction that it is generally adopted. - Arthur Schopenhauer
It will be the Mecca of the Western World...nt.
NightTwister Tuesday, January 27th at 7:41PM EST (link)Get Connected in Colorado.
$100 per square foot...
texas214 Tuesday, January 27th at 6:27PM EST (link)according to the National Parks Service the National Mall is “400 feet wide by 1 mile(5280 ft.) long”. With the $200mil request for grass, that makes it just under $100 psf for the slightly more than 2,000,000 sf.
I’ll take the job for half and have it done within 10 days of being awarded the job; which is still a ridiculously high.
If the Dems are this stupid to agree to such, just think about what a waste the rest of the $550bil in spending is.
Bingo Texas 214
izoneguy Tuesday, January 27th at 6:45PM EST (link)Some independent audit firm needs to slice & dice this bill.
Government in most languages also means “waste”.
I have done some work for the State of Texas. They are very tight when it comes to spending money. They look at every penny being spent. I don’t see that in this bill. It is just round numbers and usually nothing less than $24 Million. Who came up with these figures and how do they justify them? What will be the process in awarding contracts? Will there be accountability and transparency?
Look at the $350 Billion already spent in TARP - Part 1,
they don’t know where the money went, what it was spent on, etc.
We sent our congress people to DC and I don’t hear them asking these questions. Why aren’t some independent business people involved in these discussions? Who will get these contracts to do the $600 Billion worth of stuff that has to be done?
Let’s put the National Mall grass planting project out for bid and see what we get.
“When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
Thomas Jefferson
Gold Leaf would only cost $15.00 per square foot.
Tbone Tuesday, January 27th at 6:39PM EST (link)Welcome to heaven.
Envisioning when all that is Left is the Right.
I bet I can rustle up some VA farmers with tractors
JustLeaveMeAlone Tuesday, January 27th at 6:45PM EST (link)who will be more than happy to plow up the mall and reseed it for, say, $200,000. Ought to take under a week, and rye grass will sprout in 3 to 5 days in warm weather.
Better yet, let’s be really “green” and Darwinian and let the wire grass and crab grass sprout up all by themselves. After all, if you can’t take the foot-traffic, maybe you shouldn’t be growing on the Mall.
I’m just sayin’.
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
Wiregrass won't grow in any ground that's ever seen a plow.
Achance Tuesday, January 27th at 7:03PM EST (link)Too bad it won’t grow on the Mall.
What everybody is missing is that it is real expensive to plant grass on a union project labor agreement at Davis-Bacon prevailing wage wage rates. The unions have done a great service and will now be rewarded.
In Vino Veritas
Fraud, waste and abuse
10ksnooker Tuesday, January 27th at 6:59PM EST (link)Isn’t that why we elect Democrats?
The National Mall will become a National Testament to Obama
Scope Tuesday, January 27th at 7:05PM EST (link)First, I give Gibbs little time as Press Secretary, he is spinning Obama talk, but he is about as excitable and inspiring as paint drying on a wall. I know he’s new and “change” but he is not effective, and is actually portraying the ineptitude of Obamas presidency. The grass planting on the Mall will become a national treasure to the scene where Obama, the first black president, was annointed.
It does not have to make sense
woodsman Tuesday, January 27th at 7:10PM EST (link)they are liberals. By the time they get done spinning the story, it will be about creating jobs and providing more soothing support for pedestrian feet and how government is looking out for the little people.
Oh, yeah… the grass is green too, so that helps! Now the reasoning for this makes sense.
And to think we have four more years of this to look forward to.
jobs??
m1garand Tuesday, January 27th at 7:11PM EST (link)I wonder if all those unemployed AIG and BoA workers will be on the end of one of those shovels??
who is John Galt?
Just the kinds of jobs we want to create, too!
Ron Robinson Tuesday, January 27th at 7:12PM EST (link)Tug a wagon of sod down the mall. Learn to operate a Bobcat and a Ditch Witch - oh yeah, those will be outlawed because they are not CAFE compliant so the skill will not be re-marketable. They are telling us what they want the tax-paying future population to look like! Beware!
I am thinking seriously of applying for a grant that will help folks (regular folks) discover how easy and profitable it is to set up an online business (growth is slow when you begin… no way around that… but it doesn’t start to grow until you start it). Teach about downloadable products and products you don’t have to inventory (greener!) and how to manage and plan so revenues are sustained into retirement - then you have the revenue and not a big retirement plan balance for them to raid. Can’t tax what you haven’t earned yet… (better be careful here - they have already figured out how to tax the air we breathe)
The maybe slip in some education about how to do it all offshore so that taxes are not due until you repatriate the profits you must spend now - and then it’s only on funds that you need for consuming - so you end up being taxed on what you consume and not on what you make.
In today’s electronic world, electronic globalization is possible even for the tiny guy.
Wonderful!
________________________________________
Ron Robinson
e-Commerce Exec at 800Cart.com eCommerce who blogs at watchcenter.blogspot.com For over 15 years, his firm has assisted over 10,000 small merchants to quickly and easily ’self serve’ their businesses to e-commerce prosperity.
Go to ebay.com and type "obama"
izoneguy Tuesday, January 27th at 7:17PM EST (link)Go to ebay.com and type “obama”
30,433 results found for obama
“When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
Thomas Jefferson
WWW.PresidentBarackObama4U.COM
izoneguy Tuesday, January 27th at 7:18PM EST (link)http://cgi.ebay.com/WWW-President-Barack-Obama-4U-COM-website-domain-name_W0QQitemZ110332219655QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item110332219655&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A16%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1308
“When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
Thomas Jefferson
Jobs for what, a month?
scottbomb Tuesday, January 27th at 7:48PM EST (link)This is the problem with the government trying to “create jobs”. Once the project is done, it’s done. Government is not a business, unless it’s a communist government.
http://www.HowObamaGotElected.com
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948
Obama voters & jobs
izoneguy Tuesday, January 27th at 8:00PM EST (link)Take a look at this chart.
Since many Obama voters do not have jobs,
does that mean I have to pay double to cover their
share?
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/27/stimulus-you-cant-afford/
“When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
Thomas Jefferson
This is nuts...
liberalrepublican Tuesday, January 27th at 8:11PM EST (link)I heard something about this on the radio and thought is was $200,000 not $200 million.
I thought $200,000 was reasonable. Still do.
$200 million is practically criminal.
“Broadly speaking, liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity. … including extensive freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market or mixed economy”
Yeah, it is
CarlSchurz Tuesday, January 27th at 8:20PM EST (link)And I garuantee you it will be over budget with half of the mall done and behind schedule. Unions love the Government teat.
They’ll probably pay the workers over 15 dollars an hour, and this sort of work is really a minimum wage job.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
15 an hour?
izoneguy Tuesday, January 27th at 8:52PM EST (link)Probably more like $50 per hour and they have to kick-back 1/2 of that to the re-elect Barack forever campaign.
“When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
Thomas Jefferson
I do not know the rate in D.C. on government contracts.
CarlSchurz Tuesday, January 27th at 9:09PM EST (link)But when I was working for Bechtel Jacobs as a Laborer I got 15 dolllars and seventy something cents an hour. Of course that was doing things more dangerous than landscaping.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
Remember...they have to hire a Sprinkler Contractor...
$peciallist Tuesday, January 27th at 9:04PM EST (link)you can’t fight the Sprinkler Union!…pic later
And...who's gonna mow the that lawn on Saturday?
$peciallist Tuesday, January 27th at 9:07PM EST (link)stupid
Perhaps
Jay_Cee Tuesday, January 27th at 10:06PM EST (link)he meant that its going to create jobs indirectly. Spruce up the national mall. Tourism goes up. Local businesses prosper.
We hear those sorts of arguments all the time from our local civic leaders. Downtown revitalizations, etc, that always end up using tax payer dollars and the local level. I’ve no idea how well they work in the end…
p.s.
Jay_Cee Tuesday, January 27th at 10:07PM EST (link)Nothing like a trillion dollar bailout to make 200 million seem like small change. Sigh….