Your Tax Dollars At Work

I've been hearing all kinds of noise in the media about all of the jobs that are being saved throughout the country as a result of the Stimulus Plan.  Something north of 2 million jobs.

I'm skeptical, to put it mildly.

I read stories of congressional districts that receive boatloads of money.  Then I read that those congressional districts don't exist.  The government said it was the result of "human error" and they fixed it right up.

But it is still happening.

Where is this money really going?  Who is getting it?

I read story after story of more jobs being saved than there are total employees!  900+ jobs saved for a company with 500 employees.  Government math at its best.

What really chaps my butt is when I see government employees are given money FOR RAISES.  Those people are then counted as saved jobs.

An Associated Press review of the latest stimulus reports — which the White House promised would undergo extensive reviews to ensure accuracy — found that more than two-thirds of 14,506 jobs credited to the recovery act under spending by just one federal office were overstated because they counted pay increases for existing workers as jobs saved.

I decided to go to Recovery.gov and take a look at what kind of money is being spent in my area.  You should do the same.  Just key in your zip code, and see where all the money is being spent in your area.

Each link you click will take you deeper and deeper into the data.  It makes for good reading and a case of indegestion.

One of the "awards" to my city was for just over $1 million.  It was to re-pave a street in town.  Take a guess on how many jobs it saved.

One.

Well, it was actually 1.15 jobs.  Go figure.  A million bucks per job save.  Geez.  Even when there's rampant mis-reporting of jobs saved, they can only dig up one for this project. 

Someone's not trying hard enough.  Maybe if they gave the job to do the counting to one of the government bureaucrats that got a raise, the numbers would be a bit higher.

If I had the time and inclination, I'd dig to see if this money had already been approved for my city BEFORE the stimulus-a-palooza started.  I think I know that answer.

Accept The Challenge

The bill will eventually come due for all of this spending.  If you're one of the few remaining tax payers, they're going to be looking to you to pay the tab.

Do whatever is possible to reduce your tax exposure.  Buy online, barter - get creative. 

Live within your means.  Uncle Sam will be coming for increasingly large pieces of your cash flow.  We can expect some sort of Euro-styled VAT tax in the future.  That will make EVERYTHING taxable, including your necessities like food. 

Grow, hunt, fish, preserve.  Stretch your dollars until they scream.


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