VOTED YES ON H.R. 3357 - ANTI-RECESSION STIMULUS SPENDING

The Democrats' economic policy has resulted in record job loss, record deficits, and none of the job creation they promised.  Democrats predicted unemployment would top out at 8% if the stimulus passed; instead, it's 9.5% and rising.  The Nation's public debt and unemployment, combined, has risen by a shocking 40% because of literally trillions of dollars in additional spending under the Democrats' stimulus, energy, and health plans.

The Congressional Budget Office–the legislative branch’s own analytical agency–figures the legislation will make us worse in the long-term

So, we are going massively into debt and mortgaging the future of the young for the purpose of … shrinking the economy!  Workers will find themselves paying higher taxes to fund wasteful spending while … earning less!  No wonder Washington is such an alien place to most Americans.

 The Wall Street Journal describes how  “stimulus dollars came with strings attached that are now causing enormous budget headaches . . . At the behest of the public employee unions, Congress imposed ‘maintenance of effort’ spending requirements on states. These federal laws prohibit state legislatures from cutting spending on 15 programs,” such as ”welfare, if the state took even a dollar of stimulus cash,” even if a state’s tax revenue has since fallen due to the recession.  “So when states should be reducing” their spending ”to match. . . lower revenue collections, federal stimulus rules mean many states will have little choice but to raise taxes.”

Obama claimed the stimulus package was needed to prevent the economy from suffering from “irreversible decline,” but the Congressional Budget Office admitted that the stimulus package actually would shrink the economy “in the long run.”  Unemployment has skyrocketed past European levels, as big-spending countries have fared worse than thrifty ones.

The Washington Examiner says that “75,000 jobs” Obama has claimed credit for are “clearly imaginary” or “highly doubtful.”  That includes thousands of jobs the administration claims credit for creating in nonexistent Congressional districts. As the Examiner notes:So now the stimulus books are being cooked to mollify an anxious public worried that real-world jobs continue to disappear and angry that Obama has thrown almost $1 trillion down the stimulus rathole.

The stimulus package has since spawned countless examples of government waste and corruption.  Recently, Obama fired an inspector general, Gerald Walpin, who uncovered millions of dollars of waste and fraud in the AmeriCorps program, including by a prominent Obama supporter, endangering the Obama supporter’s ability to administer federal stimulus spending in Sacramento.  Obama’s alleged justification for firing the inspector general turned out to be false.

Congressman Peters, Maybe you cannot see this from Washington where the party spin never stops but out here in reality things are tough.  The stimulus seems to have been a very expensive flop and just like the CBO said, the stimulus will shrink the economy and “will make us worse in the long term”.  Well Brad, the ‘long term’ is here already.  Our public debt and unemployment combined, has risen by a shocking 40% because of literally trillions of dollars in additional spending that you voted for under the stimulus, energy, and health plans. We are now looking at the biggest tax increases in history because of your votes.  I can understand sticking with your party on votes but in doing so you have hurt the people of your district and their children, and their grandchildren. Why have you plunged us into so much debt, Brad?  Couldn’t you have stood up for us and talked some sense into your colleagues.  We the people don’t want your unemployment handouts, we want you to stop regulating us, spending like crazy and then sending us the bill. I’m not voting for you this time.  You need to come back here to reality and see the damage the 111th congress has done. But apparently you prefer attacking Rocky Raczkowski with lies and spin.  In addition, you want us to believe that suddenly you got Religion because you are running from your party and your mentor Nancy Pelosi.  Sorry, we see through you.