Here’s what’s hidden inside the stimulus package, courtesy of the American Issues Project:
-$335 million on domestic HIV/ AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually-transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis prevention programs
Even if this was relevant to stimulating economic growth, let’s not forget that the Center for Disease Control has spent previous federal funding on such events as a transgender beauty pageant.-$600 million to double funding to pay doctors and nurses employed by the National Health Services Corps
The bill plainly states that ‘a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary health care providers family medicine, internal medicine, pediatricians, dentists, and nurses.’ There’s nothing hidden about the agenda there. And again, how does that stimulate the economy?-$20 billion for health information technology “to jumpstart efforts to computerize health records”
This brings up too many privacy concerns to discuss in one post–but it also suggests that in no way is this a short-term spending proposal. This money will “jumpstart” a money pit.-$1.1 billion to HHS to study “comparative effectiveness,” $400 million of which can be used at former Sen. Daschle’s discretion
The short version: This money allows a committee of political appointees to decide if various medications and treatments are effective. Americans don’t need politicians making those decisions.-$200 million for the National Mall and $44 million for repairs to the exterior of the Agriculture Dept. headquarters
Obama’s press secretary defended the proposed Mall landscaping spending in a press conference yesterday. The video is available here.-$650 million for digital TV coupons
-$600 million for new cars for the federal government
-$6 billion for colleges and universities, many of which have hearty endowments already
- $4 billion (or more) for ACORN
