Many stimulus requests simply silly
Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams
The lines are forming at the stimulus trough, and the definition of 'shovel-ready' has proven to be amazingly broad and sometimes outright silly. The State of Ohio, for example, has received requests for everything from a pro wrestling team to an origami paper-folding company, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Among requests (and please keep in mind these are requests, not grants, so blame the requestor) made to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's office for stimulus cash include:
- $200,000 to train the economically challenged as Ultimate Impact Wrestlers. "We would need to obtain a building for training and shows as we have currently been using my garage for training and this [is]unheated."
- $2.8 million for a demonstration track for the MonoMobile, an electric car that hooks up to a track for long-distance trips. (Robert Heinlein lives!)
- $3,200 to replace Levalor-style blinds in three classrooms in Medina.
- $7,500 for a Chillicothe coffee business to produce reusable plastic coffee containers for its customers (how does this differ from the travel mug I use every day?)
- $8,000 to make "Hand folding Origami decorations by Senior Citizens to sell on Ebay and Amazon to assist in small increases in income for those that can not meet their monthly expenses."
- $10,000 to start a web site to "facilitate the imagination and dreams of all children and their families" through creative writing.
- $10,000 for-profit a Warren coffee house to expand special events to give kids "a place to hang out and stay off the streets."
To date, over 8,000 separate requests (the vast majority legitimate) have been received. Most fall with these areas:
- Roads, bridges, sewers and other infrastructure
- Law enforcement staffing, training and equipment
- Community health and wellness programs (including many targeting obesity)
- Historical preservation
- Recreation (trails, particularly)
As I reviewed these many requests, I found myself wondering just how many of these were 'shovel ready' because they were already budgeted? How many communities are simply sticking their own money back in their pockets until they see if they can get stimulus funds instead?
Thanks to Jill Riepenhoff and Mark Niquette of the Columbus Dispatch
Read more about the stimulus package
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-25-2009 @ 12:33PM
j said...
Your last comment hit the nail on the head.
It's amazing how quickly some of these projects are getting started. The only way that it's possible is that they were already planned. Let's not kid ourselves. Real Gov't projects take planning time and bidding time to procede. All this package really does is give more Federal money to states that are crying about the loss in income they are receiving from taxes. Since they are looking at trying to stimulate the economy so quickly very few "real" new projects will come from it.
I also liked the request from the Gentleman who has some projects that he wants to do around the Boone household.
I myself have put in a request for funding to resurface the interior thruways of my domicle (ie hardwood) and to redo the bridges that connect my living space (ie also hardwood steps). I've also asked for funding to set up an anti obesity program in my residence (ie a Diet Coke and Lean Cuisine fund) and an upgrade for a small local film preservation society (ie switching my DVD collection to BluRay and buying a new Blu Ray player and larger HDTV)
I will let you know how it all goes.
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2-26-2009 @ 11:03AM
butcher99 said...
Like Obama said, it is job stimulus. If it creates jobs for unemployed, legit jobs, then put in a proposal.
Building trails? Perfect. Low skill jobs that pay and you get a lasting benefit.
Speed reading for police? Hmmm does not create jobs but if it saves money in the long run which would mean they could hire a couple more police then you probably would go for it.
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2-26-2009 @ 2:36PM
s4r said...
You are an idiot. Do you know that?
You are dumber than a box of rocks. I sure hope you don't vote.
2-28-2009 @ 12:30AM
Verla said...
Oh so very clever, yes. But don't you see the fallacy of your argument? The government does not have this money! It has to be taken from someone else who does have the money. Obama has already said he will be increasing taxes in order to get that money the govt does not have. So you are taking money from one person to give it to another so that they can make a bunch of paper animals and try to sell them on EBay and Amazon. If this is not already sounding just ridiculous to you, please understand that many of those who will be paying higher taxes are small business people. And guess what they are going to have to do to pay that higher tax? You got it! They are going to have to cut back on employees, in many cases. So that is taking employees out of GOING and PROFITABLE concerns, so that someone else can try to sell origami on EBay. Keynesianism makes no sense and we need to stop it.
2-26-2009 @ 11:02AM
butcher99 said...
Just reread the story. Thats the worst you could find?
If that is the worst, it looks not too bad to me
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2-26-2009 @ 11:21AM
Jenoside said...
The projects are, generally speaking, already funded. For example, in my District in Florida, there are two major projects that we think may get stimulus funding. They are already designed, or near completion of design and are, therefore, considered shovel-ready. They were slated for construction in 2012, and funding for those projects has been established by the Department of Transportation. Does this mean that the DOT is just going to pocket those funds already slated for the construction of these projects? No, it means that because the project's construction was funded early, they will replace the project in the 2012 work program with another project that may not have been budgeted for or that may have been slated for construction at a later time. As far as road/bridge construction is concerned, the money should still go to roads and bridges, just some projects may be constructed earlier than originally anticipated. Yay for the people that construction benefits.
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2-26-2009 @ 2:35PM
John Demon said...
Wow, that is totally insane dude!
RT
www.be-anonymous.us.tc
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