Obama and Biden both gave stern warnings yesterday about misuse of stimulus funds. "If we see money being misspent, we're going to put a stop to it," Obama told a gathering of state officials at the White House. How? Obama says "we will call it out and we will publicize it." Biden, meanwhile, scolded: "If we don't get this right, folks, this is the end of the opportunity to convince Congress that anything should go to the states."
If this counts as accountability, color me unimpressed. "Accountability" surely implies the likelihood or possibility of real consequences. The governor of Arkansas is accountable to the people of Arkansas. The managers of a company are accountable to the shareholders and the board. (Or at least to Carl Icahn.) But the managers of Pfizer aren't accountable to the shareholders of Microsoft, and Bobby Jindal isn't accountable to the moral indignation of Barack Obama. So when Obama and Biden start talking about holding states accountable for their stimulus spending, I'm left a little confused about what they mean.
How do they imagine this working? Say some construction project in
Cincinnati takes a long time to get off the ground. Does Robert Gibbs
read denounce the foreman at a press conference, or is his name posted
on recovery.gov? Doubtful. And while Biden's answer suggests that the
administration just won't give them money in the future, Nancy Pelosi
is making it sound like stimulus cash is a one-time offer, anyway.
Biden says the administration is going to roll out some stimulus
spending restrictions
today, so I hope he puts my fears to rest. But I
don't understand how this works, either: it doesn't sound like the
administration is pushing new legislation, so can it just put
retroactive
restrictions on a bill the president has already signed?
'the OBAMA' as PRISSY in Gone-With-The-Wind'/HILLARY naturally as Mistress SCARLETT...BIDEN as the 'comik-fool'...
***scene - the evil economic wind swept through leaving millions injured/dead prostrate on stretchers awaiting catastrophe***
take 1 - action
'The OBAMA' as PRISSY crying, weeping:"Miss SCARLETT Ise dunno nothin about no STOCK MARKET or no EECHONOMIKS or no BANKSTUFFS - Ise wents to HARVARD!!!"
BIDEN as the house-fool:"Like my dad said to me in depressionville - CHUMP he is always called me CHUMP - you've got to get back up when you gets knocked-down taking the rail line to WASHINGTON DC."
HILLARY with her asbestos-pants-suits paid for by the Jews she has just sold-out slaps the uppity Negro house servant PRSISY in the face:"SHUT-UP FOOL. Just 'rig' the cattle-futures option's market with someone else's money like I did - and all of us 'insiders' will make bucks FRIG those other JOBLESS SUCKAHS - THAT'S THE WAY TO TREAT THOSE BANKERS LIKE BOBBY RUBENSANDWICH OF CITIBANK!!!"
***scene end - the destruction of 'free' capitalism in AMERIKA***
Posted by Jaimot's Jargon at 4:00 AM
Clearly people are forgetting that Rahm is still around.
How will they get states to comply? Rahm "knows people". :)
After 9/11, all of the airlines were grounded. Amtrak was the best alternative. Highways, freeways, and other road construction, maintenance, and policing are paid for by tax payers. Airports and other aspects of air travel are subsidized by tax money. The United States needs a diverse balanced transportation system. Every rail passenger is one less person, and usually, one less car on the road.