37 million to repair 12 miles on I 295 shows me that all they say is just letters jumbled together, they dion't mean anything. No responsible person would spend 37 milllion like that when people are losing homes, don't have enough food and jobs are being lost. We need to create jobs that last, not just for one summer.

"I pledge to you to restore to the federal government the capacity to do the people's work without dominating their live's. I pledge to you a government that will not only work well, but wisely - it's ability to act tempered by prudence, and it's willingness to do good balanced by the knowledge that government is never more dangerous than when our desire to have it help us blinds us to it's great power to harm us." -Ronald Reagan- 1980 Republican National Convention-

You know they could take all that money (37Million) and rebuild route 15 from Guilford (where they stopped at the abbot town line) through monson...

the potholes and "ditches/cruves" in the road tore up new car already...damn this winter

and if you think that this isn't wasteful spending, then look at what it will be funding...

seal research

It would be great if some of these projects sitting on my desk here in our engineering office could get some of this funding. It could get local wood harvesters, earthwork contractors, building contractors, and businesses supplying all thats needed some work for the next few years. Its a long shot, but we are trying our best to get something productive out of this package for this state.

Lets save money by cutting the salary of all the useless politicians in this State. I think an annual salary of $14,000 with no benefits will put politicians in touch with what Maine really needs. Also, lets create a reward program for anyone that turns in someone who is fraudently collecting food stamps, WIC, unemployment, SSDI or any other government assistance program.

No name: Unless your union contractors you won't be seeing a dime of any construction money. The stimulus act dictates that the Bacon-davis act rules as far as construction funds are concerned which means only Union shops need apply.

Here are some of the lowlights of the stimulus package as e-mailed to me by my congressman in New Jersey:

"Quite correctly, Americans are asking for help and we must respond by enacting as quickly as possible an economic stimulus package that actually creates jobs and prevents layoffs. However, we must make sure that response is effective, efficient and timely.

"Unfortunately, the bills approved by the House and the Senate, developed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her counter-part, Senator Harry Reid, appear to be ineffective, inefficient and not an intelligent way to spend one trillion taxpayer dollars!"

Total Cost and Content

The price tag of the House version of H.R. 1 totaled over $819 billion. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports the Senate-passed package will cost over $838 billion. All spending is designated "emergency spending." When combined with the $300+ billion in interest on the additional debt used to finance this bill, the burden on current and future taxpayers will exceed $1 trillion!

While both bills do contain some measure of tax relief, most of the cost in both bills derives from domestic government spending, much of which has no connection whatsoever to job creation or job protection. In fact, H.R. 1 creates 32 entirely new government programs, at a cost to the taxpayer of over $136 billion, and adds 600,000 new government jobs.

Billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, only $30 billion (a mere 3%) of the funding is directed toward the "shovel ready" road and highway spending that would immediately create jobs. (And, the infrastructure will cost more because each project nationwide under the bill will be subject to the Davis-Bacon Act, meaning only union contractors need apply!)

According to the CBO, less than half of the spending in this stimulus package will be paid out in the next two years. At that rate, an economic recovery will probably outrun most of the spending in this expensive legislation!

Process:

While H.R. 1 did garner three Republican votes in the Senate (none in the House), neither the bill, nor the process that created it, can accurately be labeled bipartisan. The package was drafted at Speaker Nancy Pelosi's direction by the Democratic leadership. There were no public hearings.

There was no real opportunity to receive input from expert

witnesses or Minority members.

Questionable Spending Unlikely to Create Jobs:

The $1 trillion "economic stimulus" plans are loaded with questionable spending that is unlikely to create jobs or

prevent layoffs. For example, either the House or the

Senate package contains:

>$79 billion for a State Stabilization Fund to bail out some

states that have done little or nothing to control their own spending or debt;

>$6.2 billion for weatherization programs, 31 times the

budget last year;

>$6 billion for broadband and wireless services in rural

areas;

>$30 billion for new Energy Department grants and loans,

a figure that exceeds the entire 2008 budget of the Department;

>$600 million for new cars for government workers;

>$400 million for global warming research;

>$335 million for sexually transmitted disease education

and prevention;

> $325 million to allow the Bureau of Land Management to

"fix" federal land;

>$300 million tax benefit for golf carts and electric

motorcycles;

>$20 million "for the removal of small-to-medium-sized fish

barriers"

>$25 million "for recreation maintenance, especially off-

road vehicle routes"

>$50 millionfor the Food Research Initiative

>$40 million for the National Service Trust;

The House package also contains a $4 billion pot for community groups like ACORN, now under FBI investigation, to draw upon for what are called "neighborhood stabilization activities." It would take either an active imagination or a healthy dose of denial to believe that

the new programs we initiate this week will EVER go away. And, it is likely that a year from now, the Majority will use this upward pressure on the budget to justify tax increases.

Temporary Program?

In addition to piling new federal funding into domestic programs that already have large unspent accounts, the Majority is claiming that much of the funding for extra programs is temporary and will end in a few years.

Expensive Health Care Changes

The House bill contains an expensive expansion of COBRA, a program that lets the unemployed retain access to their former company health benefits -- usually for about 18 months. The stimulus bill allows any former employee over age 55 to keep using COBRA right up until they qualify for Medicare at age 65. However, employees who were previously responsible for paying their health premiums while on COBRA will now have a federal government subsidy of 65 percent. CBO predicts that 7 million Americans will now have the taxpayers pay most of their insurance bills under this new provision.

Undermining Successful Welfare Reforms

The House "stimulus" plan undermines Welfare Reform's key "work requirement." Under current law, states must ensure at least half of adults on welfare are in work, education, training, job search, or other productive activities. The House stimulus bill directly weakens this work requirement, which will further increase the welfare rolls. The mechanics of this change are complicated, but the outcome is clear - to reduce or eliminate the current work requirement for recipients.

This isn't "stimulus". Its "giveaway".

The best way to stop the waste is to RESCIND the legislation. THESE IDIOTS SPEND ,SPEND AND SPEND SOME MORE.

And once again

O.B.A.M.A.

ONE

BIg

A$$

MISTAKE

AMERICA

We will be paying for this clowns mistakes for generations.

It couldn't hurt any of us to start boycotting as many foreign made goods as possible and start buying Made in America items again. I am all for supporting my neighbors job

I am trying to ge optimistic that this economic package will help bring this country back around, and realize it can't bring about immediate results. And purchasin American made goods is smart, if they are actually made here. But I do have an issue when our own governor allows road construction jobs to be completed by Massachusetts companies, instead of using people from the state of Maine. It may be good to help your neighbor out, but I fell it is time to worry about our own economy first. Put Mainers to work first, and only if this state does not have qualified businesses to fulfill our needs, then permit outsiders to come in. Lets put our own people back to work first.