At a gathering in Las Vegas on May 27th marking the first 100 days passed since the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), better known as the “stimulus” bill, President Obama stated,
“One hundred days ago, in the midst of the worst economic crisis in half a century, we passed the most sweeping economic recovery act in history – a plan designed to save jobs, create new ones, and put money in people’s pockets. Now, one hundred days later, we are meeting our economic challenges head-on and beginning to see early signs of progress across the country.”
He went on, claiming that
“Across the country, the Recovery Act is already at work, providing essential financial relief for American families and businesses, creating and saving jobs, and spurring technology and infrastructure investments that will lay the groundwork for the new economy – and work is just getting started.”
It all sounds so good, doesn’t it? Who couldn’t love an activist government at work—solving all of the ills that face us? Everybody, I suppose—except for those unlucky enough to get stuck with the bill… which is every productive member of society—present AND future. You. Me. Our kids. The grandchildren. Long after the goodness of spending money we don’t have, the reality of paying for it all will live on.
Now, I know that there is a certain amount of “stimulus” money floating around that is paying for some long-needed infrastructure projects—ones which SHOULD have been self-funded through the gasoline-tax funded trust, had it not been raided for other purposes (rail, sidewalks, museums, etc)– but that’s not the lion’s share, and not necessarily all that good given the consequences long term. All of this money must come from somewhere—even that which the government prints. Ultimately, it is “paid for” with money in only two ways: direct taxation or, more insidious, inflation. The drag that both place on the economy is not worth it, in my mind, to attempt to correct a normal cycle of business, and a contraction from too much credit freely given. To use an old cliché, the cure will be worse than the disease. When you have an economy reeling from the correction/credit contraction, there is less money to be used to buy things, and the business cycle must adjust accordingly to compensate. To take even more money out of it via taxation and/or inflation simply makes a bad situation worse, compounded multiple times over with interest on the debt incurred in the process.
Let’s take a look at a wee slice of “stimulus” close to home: the so-called “JAG” grant worth $217,578 that could be coming into Belknap County law enforcement agencies. Before I get into the details, please note that the JAG documentation says the following:
“The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize State and local government budgets, on order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive State and local tax increases.”
Keep all this in mind as you read on…
Here is a list of “essential” items and services that the Feds are buying for us with monies borrowed from the Chinese communists and the future earnings of our grandchildren.
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Alton: $19,285.20 for “Information Management Corporation (IMC) upgrade,”– mobile technology software.
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Belknap County Sheriff’s Department: $16,000 for four laptop computers; $2,500 for a “radio duplexer”; $5,500 for an “Eyeball R1, 360 degree Reconnaissance Wireless Deployable Sensor System” (covert monitoring); $350 for a” 900 Mhz wireless FM ATV video system” which is basically a pinhole camera.
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Belmont comes closest to the intended ARRA goal of providing jobs by using $20,027 for a part-time juvenile officer which translates into 20 hours per week for 50 weeks.
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Gilford: $9,962 for a new computer server, external backup drive and software; $2,088 for three Dell minitower computers with flat panel monitors; $4,643 for 2 new speed radar units; $1,990 for two complete TASER setups; $1696 for five cases of ammo and targets; $1,863 for a couple of Glock pistols equipped with night-vision capabilities and a 12 gauge shotgun.
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Laconia hits the jackpot too: $5,000 for five TASERs; $15,000 for a Harley Davidson motorcycle; $14,910 for assorted computing devises; $3,000 for five new service firearms; $8,000 to send six officers to the “Problem-Orientated-Policing conference” in Anaheim CA in November—meals, lodging, transit, etcetera; $47,000 for “an interactive use of force and firearms training simulator.” (Don’t they have one of those at Funspot?)
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Not to be outdone, Meredith hands in a nice list: $5,090 for five computers; $4,391 for a computer server and backup drive; $398 for an evidence refrigerator; $259 for a “patrol vehicle trunk organizer”; $796 for a .45 caliber handgun with holster; $1905.98 for a projector with screen and four folding tables; $815 for a TASER setup; Another $827 will go towards TASER training and the necessary items for such; $4,200 for three mobile (cruiser-mounted) laptop computers; $195 for three keyboards to go with the laptops.
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Tilton will receive: $96 for three USB server hubs; $9,770 for two “Digital in-car video systems; $1,989 for two TASERs; $370 for two TASER batteries; $1185 for a .223-caliber Bushmaster “patrol rifle with mounted light and sling.”
As you can see, thanks to a down economy– the likes of which, according to some, we haven’t seen since the Great Depression—it’s Christmas in the summertime for the local law enforcement agencies. But be warned… like unprotected sex, it is fun while it lasts, but the long-term consequences will far outlive the brief moment of pleasure.