CFA to Senate: Reject the Spending Package Under the Guise of "Stimulus"

Friday, February 6, 2009 5:47 PM

The Center for Fiscal Accountability urges all Senators to vote against the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.” Under the guise of “stimulus”, proponents of this bill seek to put taxpayers on the hook to pay for a permanent and massive expansion of government. 

However, there is no reason to believe that this plan will actually serve to “stimulate” the economy. This is old wine in new, bigger bottles – history is riddled with examples of failed experiments with Keynesian government spending sprees. A possible agreement on an amendment to cut a fragment of the wasteful spending out of the bill doesn’t change the underlying issue!

Taxpayers cannot afford this ill-conceived and bloated bill that would do nothing to stimulate the economy but instead advance a political and costly agenda.  The wasteful spending provisions are abundant in this bill, and range from additional funding for the DTV conversion over funding for the Census Bureau to increased funding on Amtrak, a bottom-less pit that has long been a drain on taxpayer wallets.  

At a time when taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet, this bill only adds fuel to the fire by giving out political handouts and rewarding spendthrift at the state and local level.  

Furthermore, the package contains numerous provisions that would not only provide no stimulus, but in fact be detrimental to the well-being of our economy, such as the expansion of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements, and anti-trade provisions.

Government cannot create wealth. The only thing it can do, and the only thing Congress should focus on, is to create the conditions for wealth production by reducing overall spending, red tape and enacting meaningful tax cuts.

Vote “NO” on the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” 

The Center for Fiscal Accountability will DOUBLE-RATE a Vote Against the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in our annual Congressional ratings.

For a PDF version of the alert click here.

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