President Obama spoke about the economy at the US Department of Transportation in Washington April 13
(Larry Downing/Reuters)Photos (1 of 1)
Obama speeds past his stimulus critics
By Laurent Belsie | 04.13.09
The Obama stimulus is rapidly building a head of steam, outpacing its critics by the sheer speed of its implementation.
On Monday, President Obama highlighted the 2,000th transportation project funded by his $787 billion package – widening an I-94 interchange in Kalamazoo County, Mich. from two to three lanes each way.
On the same day, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman spoke at the National Press Club, pointing out how tax rebates and credits were putting a little more money in people’s pockets and convincing first-time buyers to purchase homes.
Full-court press
All of this is part of the administration’s full-court press to persuade Americans that the stimulus is working despite a mounting chorus of doubters who wonder about the wisdom of using debt-financed spending to cure America’s overindulgence in, well, debt-financed spending.
No matter what one thinks about its usefulness, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been speedy. Six weeks after the federal government announced its first ARRA project, it has approved 2,000 – a rate of nearly 50 projects a day.
New Deal speed
One would probably have to go back to 1933 when President Roosevelt invented the Civilian Conservation Corps from scratch to find a similar large-scale effort. Within four months of his inauguration, FDR had hired nearly 275,000 men in 1,300 camps around the country. Some of the wind breaks they planted to reduce soil erosion can still be seen in farm country today.
Mr. Obama praised the current program along similar lines: “I am proud to utter the two rarest phrases in the English language – projects are being approved ahead of schedule, and they are coming in under budget.”
So many contractors have competed for the federal money that bids have averaged about 15 to 20 percent lower than engineers had anticipated, the administration said.
Efficient, but necessary?
That speed and efficiency is so impressive it seems almost churlish to question whether Kalamazoo County really needs three east- and three west-bound lanes on I-94, especially at a cost of $68 million to federal taxpayers.
While the population of the western Michigan county has grown 3 percent since 2000, it’s not exactly congested. “We’ve got a lot of things to deal with out here, but traffic isn’t one of them,” said Monitor correspondent and Kalamazoo resident Yvonne Zipp in an interview.
Rush hour lasts 10 minutes, maybe 15 on a Friday, she added. On the other hand, the interchange gets a lot of truck traffic, so it might smooth things a bit. “Do express my deep appreciation [to the president] for thinking of us,” Ms. Zipp said.
Comments
2. Portland Real Estate | 04.13.09
Love to hear about these projects going so well. We believe in you President Obama, and we are very proud of you.
3. Guy S | 04.13.09
So the naysayers are again stymied … Who’d have thought ?
I still recall when Newt Gingrich stood on the Capital Steps and declared Clinton’s 93 budget a surefire economic disaster.
The rest, they say, is history …
And that history says: Conservatives are almost ALWAYS wrong ….
Carpe Diem !
4. Emily | 04.13.09
What a relief! I’ve spent many sleepless nights wondering how the residents of Kalamazoo will get around.
5. norris hall | 04.13.09
Many American’s are unemployed or underemployed,
Companies are hungry for work,
Building materials and construction costs are lower than they have been for years due to the worldwide slowdown and falling demand ,
No wonder that the stimulus money is going father than expected.
The hope is that the investment we make now (while prices are low) will not have to be made by our children later when worldwide competition for resources heats up again.
6. Harry Kuheim | 04.13.09
All this pork to widen and repair roads while at the same time trying to reduce the number of cars on the road? Obama liked the $4 dollar gas prices, he thought it was OK ,just too fast.
7. mphillip | 04.14.09
Yes:
It is churlish - or bad writing.
Is this from AP?? Sounds like it.
After some time away, I now have the CSM as my home page because of what I remembered about the quiet (no BLARING HEADLINES)dignity and quality of the reporting (both U.S. domestic and international).
Please don’t disappoint. In these days of even the NYTimes trying to beat HuffPost at that site’s own silly games, please stay classy.
P.S.: This is a non-political/ideological statement. I’m just looking for good writing/reporting/journalism SOMEWHERE!!!
8. p.s.gary | 04.14.09
If things are looking up, do what I did when I learned that the Man won enough electoral votes to get there: turn a gymnastic maneuver like a back-flip a couple of times and thank God.
Whoever said that the sweetest sound is the laughter of a happy child is right…second only to the silence success imposes upon a chorus of doubters.
9. dom youngross | 04.14.09
“I am proud to utter the two rarest phrases in the English language – projects are being approved ahead of schedule, and they are coming in under budget.”
What a con artist!!! What about the gargantuan new federal debt those whizbang projects are creating? But bids for federal stimulization jobs are coming in 15-20% lower than anticipated, wowee! Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican you have to admit president Obama is a con artist of biblical proportion. If you don’t admit it, well, maybe you are used to dining at restaurants that don’t list prices on the menu — and you always have someone else pick up the tab for your chow.
The US posted a record $956.8 billion budget deficit for the first half of fiscal 2009, more than TRIPLE the year-ago shortfall:
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE53927F20090410
If Cecil B DeMille was still alive he’d make a movie whereby president Obama stands on a cliff, raises his hands, and an eleven trillion foot deep sea of federal debt magically parts and we all walk through it — untouched by both the principal and interest — to get to the promised land.
Check out, bookmark, and revisit often the national debt clock — every time you think we are making an ‘investment’ our children, and grandchildren, will thank us for:
http://brillig.com/debt_clock/
Anyone else know what a Judas Goat is? The Judas Goat is trained to associate with sheep or cattle, leading them to a specific destination, like the slaughterhouse. But the Judas Goat doesn’t go in.
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1. Life of a Salesman — Selling what’s already been sold — this time, it counts | Lux Libertas - Light and Liberty | 04.14.09
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1. Victor Victor | 04.13.09
A majority of Americans voted Obama in, mainly due their belief he would institute change — change away from 8 years of Republican administration. It looks like he is implementing that change and it looks our economy has changed direction from down to level or up. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican you have to admit he is trying to bring about change and it looks like he is accomplishing that. How about a round of applause for our freshman prez!