The political spectrum in this country is usually divided into 3 broad groups: Left, Center, Right. This is a very simplified description. Because of that simplicity, the media loves to break the country down into those three groups.
While I disagree with this simplistic approach, my main disagreement is what the media claims constitutes the center.
The recent cuts in the Senate to the House version of the stimulus bill have been hailed as an effort lead by centrists to hold the line on pork and spending. That’s the media’s interpretation of events. In reality, these cuts look like a wish list from the Right.
Most of the cuts can be categorized in five main groups: education, science, health care, the environment, and law enforcement. All of these, except for law enforcement, are areas that the conservative right has fought against. Even law enforcement is starting to get short shrift from the Right. They prefer privatized prisons, so prison funding had to go.
Photo courtesy of CuriousGeorge81
Some of the other cuts are completely nonsensical.
Full list after the break.
One of the hardest hit parts of our economy can be found in the construction industry, yet several of the items are targeted specifically to give a boost to construction.
Why would centrists block funding for construction projects? They wouldn’t, but conservatives would.
A recent email I received from a conservative mailing list spelled out exactly why construction funding is on the conservative radar. The email explained that a percentage of construction workers are actually illegal aliens. “Oh, Noes! The wetbacks will get all our tax dollars!” God forbid we spend money on jumpstarting a vital part of our economy because a small portion of that money might end up being earned by illegal aliens.
That fear of brown-skinned aliens also reared its head when it came to state aid. The same conservative email lamented the fact that some of the money intended to help state governments deal with the financial crisis might go to help illegal aliens.
It’s true that illegal aliens make up to 10% of the population. That means that at least 90% of the funds would go to help legal citizens. But that’s not good enough for the crazies on the right. Better to watch fellow Americans suffer than to help even one illegal alien.
Some of the other items will require some research before commenting. For instance, what would the GSA do with the $4.5 billion intended for their use? The same goes for the $100 million for Farm Service Agency modernization. I suspect it is to modernize and improve services, but without a full explanation it is difficult to tell.
A case could be made in support of almost any one of the items that have been cut. Yet the representatives who put those in there in the first place have been suprisingly quiet. Or is it that the media is just not reporting that side of this issue?
One of the most talked about cuts was of monies intended to be spent to remove barriers to fish migration in rivers. This is a dearly beloved project among sportsmen, state natural resource commissions, bioligists, and others interested in preserving our bio-diversity and in promoting fish stocks. However, this effort has been held up to ridicule by so-called centrists.
Why has no one come out in support of spending like the one mentioned above? It would create jobs – someone would have to be paid to remove those barriers – it would improve the environment, improve fish stocks and therefore sportfishing, it would even improve and protect bio-diversity according to wildlife biologists. What’s not to like?
I call bullshit on the centrist claim. This is not a centrist effort. This is an obvious conservative agenda pushed by two supposedly moderate Republicans, as if there is any such animal, Lieberman, and a conservative Democrat in Ben Nelson.
Enough of this centrist crap. It’s time to fight back.
The list as provided here comes from CNN. (My emphasis)
Partially cut:
$3.5 billion for energy-efficient federal buildings (original bill $7 billion)
$75 million from Smithsonian (original bill $150 million)
$200 million from Environmental Protection Agency Superfund (original bill $800 million)
$100 million from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (original bill $427 million)
$100 million from law enforcement wireless (original bill $200 million)
$300 million from federal fleet of hybrid vehicles (original bill $600 million)
$100 million from FBI construction (original bill $400 million)
Fully eliminated
$55 million for historic preservation
$122 million for Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters
$100 million for Farm Service Agency modernization
$50 million for Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service
$65 million for watershed rehabilitation
$100 million for distance learning
$98 million for school nutrition
$50 million for aquaculture
$2 billion for broadband
$100 million for National Institute of Standards and Technology
$50 million for detention trustee
$25 million for Marshalls Construction
$300 million for federal prisons
$300 million for BYRNE Formula grant program
$140 million for BYRNE Competitive grant program
$10 million state and local law enforcement
$50 million for NASA
$50 million for aeronautics
$50 million for exploration
$50 million for Cross Agency Support
$200 million for National Science Foundation
$100 million for science
$1 billion for Energy Loan Guarantees
$4.5 billion for General Services Administration
$89 million General Services Administration operations
$50 million from Department of Homeland Security
$200 million Transportation Security Administration
$122 million for Coast Guard Cutters, modifies use
$25 million for Fish and Wildlife
$55 million for historic preservation
$20 million for working capital fund
$165 million for Forest Service capital improvement
$90 million for State and Private Wildlife Fire Management
$1 billion for Head Start/Early Start
$5.8 billion for Health Prevention Activity
$2 billion for Health Information Technology Grants
$600 million for Title I (No Child Left Behind)
$16 billion for school construction
$3.5 billion for higher education construction
$1.25 billion for project based rental
$2.25 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization
$40 billion for state fiscal stabilization (includes $7.5 billion of state incentive grants)
29 comments