Happy Stimulus Day to Susan Collins, Who Killed Billions in School Funding

ThinkProgress has an absolutely devastating report on 111 Republican members of Congress who have attacked last year’s stimulus bill, but who have since taken credit for it. Click through for details on Republican hypocrisy close to you, but for a taste, here are the MI GOP stimulus hypocrites.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) Signed A Letter Hailing Stimulus Funds As An ‘Important First Steps For Individuals And Their Families.’ The letter, signed by other members of the Michigan congressional delegation, was sent to the Director of Recovery Auto Workers and Communities. [Letter from Michigan Delegation to Ed Montgomery, 5/6/09]

-Rep. Upton Voted Against The Recovery Package Twice [Roll Call Vote #46; Roll Call Vote #70]

Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) Signed A Letter Hailing Stimulus Funds As An ‘Important First Steps For Individuals And Their Families.’ The letter, signed by other members of the Michigan congressional delegation, was sent to the Director of Recovery Auto Workers and Communities. [Letter from Michigan Delegation to Ed Montgomery, 5/6/09]

-Rep. Ehlers Voted Against The Recovery Package Twice [Roll Call Vote #46; Roll Call Vote #70]

Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) Signed A Letter Hailing Stimulus Funds As An ‘Important First Steps For Individuals And Their Families.’ The letter, signed by other members of the Michigan congressional delegation, was sent to the Director of Recovery Auto Workers and Communities. [Letter from Michigan Delegation to Ed Montgomery, 5/6/09]

-Rep. Camp Voted Against The Recovery Package Twice [Roll Call Vote #46; Roll Call Vote #70]

Rep. Thad McCotter (R-MI) Signed A Letter Hailing Stimulus Funds As An ‘Important First Steps For Individuals And Their Families.’ The letter, signed by other members of the Michigan congressional delegation, was sent to the Director of Recovery Auto Workers and Communities. [Letter from Michigan Delegation to Ed Montgomery, 5/6/09]

-Rep. McCotter Voted Against The Recovery Package Twice [Roll Call Vote #46; Roll Call Vote #70]

Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) Signed A Letter Hailing Stimulus Funds As An ‘Important First Steps For Individuals And Their Families.’ The letter, signed by other members of the Michigan congressional delegation, was sent to the Director of Recovery Auto Workers and Communities. [Letter from Michigan Delegation to Ed Montgomery, 5/6/09]

-Rep. Miller Voted Against The Recovery Package Twice [Roll Call Vote #46; Roll Call Vote #70]

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) Signed A Letter Hailing Stimulus Funds As An ‘Important First Steps For Individuals And Their Families.’ The letter, signed by other members of the Michigan congressional delegation, was sent to the Director of Recovery Auto Workers and Communities. [Letter from Michigan Delegation to Ed Montgomery, 5/6/09]

-Rep. Rogers Voted Against The Recovery Package Twice [Roll Call Vote #46; Roll Call Vote #70]

But I think another Republican–along with her “moderate” buddies, Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Arlen Specter, and Claire McCaskill–who deserve some scorn today. Among the $100 billion they demanded be stripped from the stimulus package before they’d support it was money for school modernization and state fiscal stabilization funds.

We now know that–as predicted–states are reeling with budgetary problems to an extent that may cause 900,000 further job losses.

States are looking at a total budget gap of $180 billion for fiscal 2011, which for most of them begins July 1. These cuts could lead to a loss of 900,000 jobs, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com.

Granted, the money that Collins took out of education stimulus last year would not have made up the difference in the cuts we’ll see from states in the upcoming fiscal year. But Collins and her buddies do deserve a reminder that their so-called fiscal moderation last year has lasting effects on the Americans losing their jobs.

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  1. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Fiscal moderation for millionaires – who are spending taxpayer monies with abandon while benefiting from taxpayer-funded lifetime health and retirement benefits – is fine. Directing that spending toward average folks rather than toward corporations who benefit those politicians with their largesse (which amounts to a tiny fraction of the taxpayer funds directed toward them) is socialism, code for something wrong.

    That is such an easy political target to hit that even a “mushy liberal naif” like Barack Obama could hit it, while adhering to his claims of being post-partisan. That no one in Washington wants to aim at it – any more than they want to admit to having been intimate with Jack Abramoff – suggests that the barrel is as rotten as the apples inside it.

  2. Seymour Friendly says:

    It would seem clear that, from the standpoint of the national government supposedly existing to serve the interests and needs of the broad population of the country, the US is completely ungovernable and the national government is irrevocably corrupt and dysfunctional. It’s obviously a bi-partisan reality.

  3. canadianbeaver says:

    Well if the stimulus can get credit for “saving millions of jobs” then I’m going to go out on a limb and say McCain would have brought in the exact same Stimulus plan. After all, reality shows that Reps and Dems all belong to the same good ol’ boy’s club. They yell at each other in Congress, then leave and dine together like good buddies. Sort of like Dems were against war, before they voted for it and wanted it.

  4. Petrocelli says:

    The good news is that the Chinese & Indians are racing ahead to produce more graduates and therefore, leaders in all fields while Collins & Co. push education funding further back, at home … /s

    • nahant says:

      Republicans to the person wants to kill Public Education, Medicare, Social Security and anything that the ordinary 90%ers get the usual NOTHING for all the taxes they pay. The Conservatives want to bring back the days before the “New Deal” and gamble with the people’s money and then when the lose it all the money they want the ve3ry same tax payers to bail them out!! They are all sick puppies who only care in the world is greed for themselves and their crony friends!

  5. conan776 says:

    If the administration would just let the bottom fall out of the real estate market, the price of everything would go down. Then the states wouldn’t have to pay government workers as much and could stretch their budgets further.

    • canadianbeaver says:

      Nobody wants to break that ever politically popular real estate bubble, so they are all propping it up. Why? Who knows. The Canadian government has just responded to the thoughts of that bubble bursting, by attempting to penalize homebuyers, with the excuse of helping. For example, if you now want to buy property of any kind that is not your place of residence, the law requires you to have a 20% deposit. So the only people that could make money would be the rich. Again.

    • nahant says:

      If the administration would just let the bottom fall out of the real estate market, the price of everything would go down. Then the states wouldn’t have to pay government workers as much and could stretch their budgets further.

      Just how much of a pay cut are YOU willing to take conan776?? You seem to imply that these state workers don’t earn their pay!!

    • perris says:

      you seem to think it’s good for the economy when middle class males less?

      intersting perspective but no

      what we NEED are real living wage, can retire at a reasonable age, can put health food on the table and give health care to our family

      JOBS

      turning good jobs into bad ones is what caused the problem in case you didn’t know it

      on the other hand, I happen to believe the government should have allowed the real estate market to bottom and then forced cram down on banks to what the homes were worth instead of the inflated figure the banks created

      so on that we sort of agree

  6. bmaz says:

    In far more important news, it is a wonderful bright day at Whistler. Americans Lindsay Vonn and Julia Mancuso have taken the gold and silver respectively in the long awaited women’s downhill.

      • bmaz says:

        Did you have live coverage up there? Fucking NBC showed curling instead so the downhill can only be seen delayed tonight in the US. I had to follow by on course timing and a live blog.

        • Petrocelli says:

          Yessir, we get live coverage in HD and our Networks also talk about the Athletes from other nations, with reverence.

        • onitgoes says:

          I’ll say. Hate, hate, hate the Oly coverage in the USA. It’s inane & worthless & laden with dumb “asides” that I don’t want to see, like some lady the other night blathering on about polar bears!! I want to watch the athletes do their thing, d@mnit, not some polar bear.

          Plus the usual stuff goes on here in the USA: the focus is mainly on US atheletes (which is ok to a point). And then we have wait until nearly midnight to see any of the really “good” races/competitions/games. It’s all pre-filmed, so it’s even more annoying. Plus we get about 30 seconds (really) of Oly whatever, followed by about 5 min (really) of ads. Totally disjointed & distracting & makes me turn off the tube in sheer frustration. wah wah wah.

          Back to boring old politics: as far as the DNC taking advantage of this: LOL!! The DNC will never “take advantage” bc the DNC is working from the same playbook. It’s a good thought; will never happen in my lifetime. We don’t have a two-party system. We have two branches (nearly the same) of the same one party: Republirats or Democans… take your pick.

          These craven Senators don’t give a rats’ patoot about our nation’s future, whether it’s in terms of educating citizens to handle the work, be inventive, and all that good stuff, or just making sure we have enough jobs to put some food on the table. They got theirs: eff you. They want the entire globe to be a third world country, where the fat cats can be as greedy as possible, and they rest of us can eat $**t & die. The end.

          PS Thanks again for the Oly update. I’m glad that Vonn got the GOLD!!! on her bum leg; I know what it’s like to ski w/an injury like that (well… I know what it feels like to have bruise there. My skiing in no way compares to the, cough, Olympian realms in which Vonn skis)…

        • skdadl says:

          Hi, Petro. I still don’t have TV, so I’ve been following the liveblogging at Salon, which is often very funny. Mind you, a lot of the humour seems to be aimed at NBC broadcasters, and I can understand that, but I feel they’re missing our local absurdities. I think this was my favourite quote from the opening ceremonies:

          Here’s kd lang to sing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” This is one of the best songs ever written, and kd lang is really a force to be reckoned with. That said, is this song appropriate to the moment? “She tied you to her kitchen chair.” Is that a new winter event that I don’t know about?

          Or this:

          Right now I’m thinking again they probably should’ve ponied up that extra $360 million. You always think a cheap Olympic cauldron is going to be just as good as an expensive one, but man, are you wrong.

        • Petrocelli says:

          *Hugs to skdadl*

          We’ve been spewing really good spirits, whenever we’ve tuned into Boob Costas and the NBC crew, so we’re now firmly reconciled to the Canadian Channels for all Olympic events.

          I saw kd lang when she was a rising star in Calgary. Her rendition of “Hallelujah” was spectacular.

        • skdadl says:

          k.d. is a phenom. God bless Alberta for that. Leonard kinda depresses me, but maybe I’ve just been listening for too long.

          Don’t you just love the way the IOC have been scrubbing YouTube? When will they ever learn?

  7. readerOfTeaLeaves says:

    Okay, so I’ll click through to Think Progress later, but first I took about 5 minutes out on ‘the google’ to see how that figure of $100 billion stacked up relative to other items in the news today.

    So I hope that my efforts to provide a little more ‘context’ to Susan Collins’ penny-pinching foolishness are a helpful contribution to this thread topic:

    ITEM #1: Because the Senate has yet to act on health care reform, the amount that Collins and her pals demanded be cut from the stimulus represents only 1/8th of what Americans handed over to healthCos (who don’t have to abide by antitrust regulations) in 2009 alone, a huge chunk of which went to only 5 companies:

    Last year the five largest health insurance companies scored record profits of $12.2 billion – an increase of $4.4 billion (56%) over 2008 figures. The numbers, compiled by Health Care for America Now (HCAN), a coalition of reform groups, come from the financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    HCAN examined the profits of WellPoint, United Health Group, Cigna, Aetna and Humana. According to HCAN, the five insurance giants increased their profits while providing coverage to 2.7 million fewer people than the year before. HCAN also found that three of the five companies slashed the amount of each premium dollar they spent on medical care for their customers, diverting more to salaries, administrative expenses and profits.

    The five biggest insurance companies captured $232 billion of the roughly $809 billion Americans spent for private health insurance in 2009. As they’ve gobbled up other companies through mergers and acquisitions, the Big Five’s share of the pie has steadily increased. Lack of competition has led to these profits as well as an epidemic of deceptive and fraudulent conduct. Meanwhile more and more Americans are uninsured and struggle to cope with rapidly escalating costs. While the 10 largest health insurers saw their profits balloon from $2.4 billion in 2000 to $13 billion in 2000, more than 47 million Americans are now uninsured, and premiums have risen over 120 percent in the past decade for those who do have coverage.

    From a New Jersey newspaper blog

    ITEM #2: Meanwhile, senators like Collins have refused to produce viable energy alternatives, so we get to read analyses of oil industry trends like this, reminding us all that Shell Oil Company made $31 billion in 2008 alone:

    Feb 4th 2010 | From The Economist online

    ON THE face of it the world’s big and publicly quoted oil companies should be celebrating some pleasing results this week. Royal Dutch Shell unveiled its results on Thursday February 4th, reporting that it had made $9.8 billion in 2009. Two days earlier BP boasted profits of $14 billion for the same year. Yet these billions are a disappointment compared with the bonanza of previous years (Shell, for example, raked in $31.4 billion in 2008 alone) when soaring oil prices pulled profits ever higher.

    In the long term, however, the firms’ success depends on sustaining reserves. The big western oil companies are trying to expand through acquisitions and investment, but the opportunities do so are becoming scarcer. The firms are spending where they can. Exxon Mobil, the biggest listed oil company, says that exploration and capital spending hit $27.1 billion in 2009, 4% higher than in 2008. The company expects to spend $25 billion to $30 billion annually to the same end over the next five years. BP intends to spend some $20 billion this year on investment in new projects and drilling, roughly the same level as last year.

    …By far the biggest bet laid, however, has been on natural gas. Around 40% of Shell’s daily production is now in the form of gas. Total and BP are not far behind. Gas is increasingly important for power generation and heating and the global market is expected to grow by half by 2030.

    [Note: Given the wacko accounting rules current today, this is the **reported** profit; who knows what they actually made?]

    So I guess that if you blind yourself to the offshore corporations, the tax evaders, the profit you’re too weeny to touch for The Common Good — let alone the future of America’s children — then I suppose that being a hypocrite might be the least of your problems.

    IMVHO, it shows atrociously bad judgement for these Congresscritters to be fighting over bones and scraps from the table while they allow corporations to basically steal America blind.

    Man, do we ever need some brighter minds in D.C.!

    • Badwater says:

      Man, do we ever need some brighter minds in D.C.!

      Too bad the Republics want to put someone dimmer than the Decider in D.C., namely Palin.

    • qweryous says:

      “Man, do we ever need some brighter minds in D.C.!”

      Yes we do.

      Here is one of the obstacles in the way: dimmer minds.

      Here some alarming survey results from Texass.

      Remember that these ‘alternate reality’ believers have a major influence on the nation’s textbooks.

      http://www.texastribune.org/stories/2010/feb/17/meet-flintstones/

      Here is one ‘highlight’:
      “• Did humans live at the same time as the dinosaurs? Three in ten Texas voters agree with that statement; 41 percent disagree, and 30 percent don’t know.”

      30% are wrong, but how do 30% “don’t know”?

      Can’t keep that science straight?
      Can’t be bothered to remember small details?
      Science teacher too busy praying and so “didn’t learn that part” and now
      the students “don’t know”?

      I looked for the crosstab to see how “don’t know” correlates with Alaskan presidential candidate support and did not find that information.

  8. perris says:

    I’m not certain we’re gonna be thrilled with this stimulous in the end, this was mostly trickle down based which of course gives the worst kind of return

    and I have yet to see jobs here in new york as yet, people are still losing their jobs left and right

    let’s hope the next year brings the most important thrust of the stimulous, real living wage jobs

    that’s all we really need

  9. Bluetoe2 says:

    Michigan Republicans are obedient little fascists doing the bidding of their anti-American party that is opposed to the common good in favor of individual greed.

  10. i4u2bi says:

    It’s such an honor to be served by these lying two-faced Republiscum hypocrits. Upton..Ehlers..Camp..McCotter..Miller..and best of all far and away a total ass..Rogers.

    They do so much to help Michigan and the country.

    • RoyalOak says:

      Yuppers! SOOO proud to be a Michigander….just look at these upper echelon representatives we elect! /s

    • michiganhunter says:

      There is an alternative to McCotter. Natalie Mosher is running to unseat him this year, and she has a decent shot. The district (M-11) has been trending Democratic over the years and Obama wiped the floor with McCain there. McCotter squeaked out a victory by with 51.8% in a four person field. The Dem in 2008 ran a pretty lame campaign, but we are determined to do better with a good base of committed volunteers and a candidate who is an outspoken progressive. Go to mosherforcongress.com to learn more, volunteer, and/or contribute.

  11. victoreador says:

    Susan Collins oozes supercilious sanctimony from every pore and orifice of her compassionless walking corpse. What remains of her conscience is screaming as it pulls and claws at her skin, resulting in that pinched and puckered visage that we see in every photo of her. I can barely summon the fortitude to look upon her image.

    • Scoopernicus says:

      Yeah, that about sums it up for me too. Damn I wish Allen had waged a more aggressive campaign against her.

  12. BMcGarth says:

    Any competent DNC chair would buy Ads in these

    critters district and/or state and reduce ’em to

    less American but remember the guy running the DNC seems ineffectual.

    • Scoopernicus says:

      In Maine we are so enamored of the Queens ‘centrism’ that nobody days point out the obvious, they are raving partisan hacks of the right.

  13. banderson2 says:

    None of this matters if the Obama administration is not going to use it. It is almost like these people are inept.

  14. chitowner says:

    This prissy battle axe gave up any appearance of reason and moderation when she towed the right wing party line on torturing terror suspects.

  15. BigJess says:

    Hey, bmaz, I’m with you. Way to go Lindsey Vonn! First ever gold for an American woman in the downhill. (And broke the Sports Illustrated “cover curse” in the process?)

    MOV over Mancuso: 56/100ths of a second. A lifetime of training and preparation to be 56/100ths better than the second-best person in the world. Wow. This is something mere mortals cannot comprehend. Maybe Fox Mulder was right; maybe there are alien life forms living among us.

    To chitowner: love your “prissy battle axe” description.

  16. BigJess says:

    Bmaz —

    As I recall you’re a lawyer. This is O/T here but there was a post about a week ago about Tweety, KO, Rachel, Ed, etc., not addressing the concerns posed by Comcast’s attempt to buy NBC/Universal. I was wondering if you had an opinion as to whether or not KO & Co could legally comment while the deal (and regulatory approval) is pending. I’m thinking that by virtue of having 401K stock and/or stock options in their compensation deals they might fall under SEC rules that limit which officials of public (or about to go public via IPO) can and can’t say what during various “silent periods”.

    Any thoughts, clarification?

    Thanks.

    • bmaz says:

      No clue on that. You would think there would not be an issue reporting news and facts already in the public domain; they are a news operation after all, but I do not know anything about the pertinent legal provisions. I’ll say this, I doubt it makes much difference as I would think the GE and NBC bigwigs would tell them to stay away from it anyway.

  17. BigJess says:

    Thanks, Bmaz. Reporting on the news is one thing, but some progressives have been upset that they have not come out against the deal due to Comcast’s history with respect to Net Neutrality, monopoly practices, etc. However, in addition to what you noted (word from the bosses) I’d think that if any of them tried to spike the deal they might not only run afoul of SEC regs and/or laws but might open themselves up to lawsuits from disgruntled GE and/or Comcast stockholders. (The argument being that those with a vested interest in the status quo helped squelch a deal that would have benefited other stockholders. But hey, I’m not a lawyer.)

  18. dstrong says:

    Rachel Maddow has done a fantastic job of pointing out what we all knew about Republicans, they are liars and hypocrites. But come on, it won’t matter a bit. Their constituents are dumb as a sack of rocks. They will continue their knee jerk responses and vote these cretons back into office. It matters not how the media, even Fox News, is pointing out the Republicans outright lying and hypocrisy. All the Republicans have to do is say the buzz words that get these morons all worked up, like socialism, liberals, gays, guns, God, marxism; you get the point. Once the idiots in their districts hear these words, their brains go into full moron mode and no matter what Obama and the Democrats have done to improve their lives, they will run to the polls and vote against them, because you know its the gays, or the immigrants, or the liberals fault this economy isn’t working for them. Great job Rachel and others, but the teminally stupid will remain terminally stupid and will continue to vote for these cretons. And until this equation changes, the simpletons on the Republican side of the aisle will to continue to lie and deceive.

    • BigJess says:

      Yes, but the lying and deceiving that GOPers do energizes their base, while the lying Obama and the Dems do just demoralizes the progressive base.

  19. michiganhunter says:

    Anybody out there know how to get hold of a copy of the original letter to Ed Montgomery signed by the Michigan Republicrites? The link in this article leads to another secondary source.