Stimulus Waste: Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Spent on Signs by Democrats, Team Obama (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on July 15, 2010
Like this American Reinvestment and Recovery Act sign? Hope so. You paid for it, and thousands more like it.
Taxpayers’ money for the $862-billion Obama stimulus/porkulus package (which a majority of Americans did not want passed) is giving expensive work to sign makers.
Thousands of “The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act” signs were bought, costing millions of dollars… Team Obama calls it “transparency.”
Others call it “propaganda” and “waste.”
Not what I would have spent millions on during the worst economic crisis in decades. But then, I’m not Barack Obama…
From ABC News, Signs of the Stimulus:
As the midterm election season approaches, new road signs are popping up everywhere – millions of dollars worth of signs touting “The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act” and reminding passers-by that the program is “Putting America Back to Work.”
A look at where the stimulus money is going.
On the road leading to Dulles Airport outside Washington, DC there’s a 10′ x 11′ road sign touting a runway improvement project funded by the federal stimulus. The project cost nearly $15 million and has created 17 jobs, according to recovery.gov.
However, there’s another number that caught the eye of ABC News: $10,000. That’s how much money the Washington Airports Authority tells ABC News it spent to make and install the sign – a single sign – announcing that the project is “Funded by The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act” and is “Putting America Back to Work.” The money for the sign was taken out of the budget for the runway improvement project.
ABC News has reached out to a number of states about spending on stimulus signs and learned the state of Illinois has spent $650,000 on about 950 signs and Pennsylvania has spent $157,000 on 70 signs. Other states, like Virginia , Vermont, and Arizona do not sanction any signs.
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Rep. Issa writes that the passage of the Stimulus Bill, “has provided an opportunity for the Obama administration to claim political credit for the various projects around the country that have been funded by this redistribution of taxpayer dollars.”
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Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) has joined the chorus of Republican outrage over stimulus signs and claims at least $20 million has been spent on them. He told ABC News, “I think it’s a bit of an oxymoron to spend tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money, borrowed money, on a bunch of signs to tell them how we are spending their taxpayer money.”
Schock’s office provided ABC News with administration guidance on stimulus signs sent to him from a constituent. The document, dated March of 2009, outlines the “General Guidelines for Emblem and Logo Applications.” The Recovery Act logo which was provided not only looks oddly similar to the Obama logo from the 2008 campaign but its stated purpose, according to the document, is to act as “a symbol of President Obama’s commitment to the American people to invest their tax dollars wisely and put Americans back to work.”
Rep. Schock argues that the signs are not a wise investment at all, but rather, a waste of money. He took to the House floor today to offer a bill, “to prevent funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 from being used for physical signage indicating that a project is funded by such Act, and for other purposes.”
ABC News: Stimulus Money Used for Signs
From Patterico’s Pontifications, Obama’s Stimulus for Sign-Makers:
The Obama Administration means more work for sign-makers…
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The Stimulus reportedly includes sign requirements that require “Funded By: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Barack Obama, President” or the Recovery Act logo that resembles the Obama 2008 campaign logo and purports to be “a symbol of President Obama’s commitment to the American people to invest their tax dollars wisely and put Americans back to work.”
Obama’s name or logo appear to be on these signs. I wonder if someday he may regret that, much like President Bush came to regret his “Mission Accomplished” moment.
Conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh pointed out on today’s radio broadcast, “We got regulations coming out every orifice there is in Washington and we don’t have any economic growth.”
I wrote about this ridiculous waste of stimulus money in March 2009… Obamanomics FAIL… Again: Road Reconstruction for the Wealthy in Illinois, Using Our Stimulus Money… Glorious! (video) – see video below.
Stimulus Springs Eternal – Taxpayer Funding for Millionaires in Illinois | 2009
Recovery.gov logo spoof created by Anonymous
Related:
Nice Deb: Video: Obama Speech In KC – The Usual Mix of Bush-Blaming, Empty Promises, and Strawmen and Unbelievable!: Right Before 4th of July Holiday Weekend, Congress “Deemed Faux $1.1 Trillion Budget ‘as Passed’ and The Burning Question: Gross Incompetence Or Cloward-Piven Strategy?
Confederate Yankee: Issa Report Forces Administration’s Propaganda Retreat
Gateway Pundit: $20 Mil Wasted on Obama Propaganda Signs and Obama Continues to Lie About Jobs; Says “I Expect to Be Held Accountable” (Video) and Thanks Barack. US Economy May Not Recover For 5 or 6 Years and White House Admits GOP Could Take House Back… But, Will Stick With Failed Policies Anyway and Dem’s Financial Bill Imposes Race & Gender Quotas on Financial Sector and Dem’s Financial Bill Imposes Race & Gender Quotas on Financial Sector and Figures. Obama Praises Electric Vehicle Manufacturer That Makes Trucks That Cost Twice as Much as Normal Truck and As Dem Policies Continue to Fail Miserably – November Thumpin Looks More Likely and Independent Voters Abandon Radical Obama in Droves and Obama’s Cloward-Piven Economic Strategy Working Out As Planned and Dems Refuse Compromise on Unemployment Benefits; Go On Vacation and After US Economy Loses Another 125,000 Jobs Obama Says: “We’re Heading in the Right Direction” (Video) and Unreal. Obama: “Unemployment’s at 9.6%… At Least It’s Not at 12, 13 or 15%” (Video) and Media Shocked to See “Unexpected” Rise in Jobless Rate and Nancy Pelosi: Unemployment Checks Are the Fastest Way to Create Jobs (Video) and Rachel Pulaski Invites All Patriots to the July 3rd Las Cruces Tea Party and Lindsey Graham: Tea Party Will Die Out – Republicans Will Move Away From “The Fringe” and Nancy Pelosi: Unemployment Checks Are the Fastest Way to Create Jobs (Video) and Obama Travels to Wisconsin to Tote Disastrous Stimulus Bill… Tea Party Breaks Out (Video)
GayPatriot: Obama Has Killed Recovery
Radio Vice Online: Speaking of George W. Bush…
Motor City Times: You Try And Fix The Federal Budget
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Limbaugh Transcript: Obama Claims He Inherited “Decade of Economic Uncertainty”… What Decade Is POTUS Talking About? and Bloom off the Liberal Elitist Rose: Mort Zuckerman Clobbers Obama, Even Barbra Streisand Against POTUS on His Deficit Spending Disaster (video) and “Kicking the Dog” One Time Too Often… Wall Street Donations to Democratic Campaigns Drastically Drop and Outrageous: Congress Deemed $1.1 TRILLION Budget “As Passed” – Sneaked in Increased Spending Before 4th of July Weekend and Obama’s Secret to Cheering Himself Up When Faced with Failed Stimulus & Record Unemployment: Have a Danish! (video) and Gloves Off: Left-wing Extremist Chris Matthews’ Anti-Tea Party Propaganda Misrepresents & Demonizes Patriotic Americans… National Tea Party Calling for Sponsors to Drop MSNBC’s ‘Hardball’ (video) and Cowards: Democrat Politicians Hiding Out from Town Halls This Summer to Avoid Angry Voters (video)
No Runny Eggs: Monday Hot Read – Tom Blumer’s “The Most Depressing Numbers in Friday’s Employment Data”
Telegraph: With the US trapped in depression, this really is starting to feel like 1932
SusanAnne Hiller, Big Government: Why Didn’t the Deomocrats Take a Vote on Deficit-Neutral Unemployment Bill?
The Conservative Pup: Careening Down The Mountain Straight Toward The Cliff
USA Today: National debt soars to highest level since WWII
Doug O’Brien, Big Government: More Stimulus Math: Cooking the Books on Stimulus Jobs
American Thinker: Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis
Another Black Conservative: UPDATED: David Weigel just another fake, phony and fraud conservative
About the author
And they wonder why America is so angry? Even on his worst day, W was better than O on his best day.
New video from moi:
Millions of Dollars Wasted on Propaganda Stimulus Signs