Who Knows Where the Cash Goes?

Brian Doherty | April 10, 2009

Not them, GOP congresspersons are complaining. As Byron York reports in today's D.C. Examiner:

During the stimulus debate, the bill's supporters stressed that it included strong oversight safeguards. But audits and reports are months, if not years, away. Oversight will be after the fact; right now, with the money actually beginning to flow, members of Congress have little or no idea where it is going. What, for example, is the Department of Housing and Urban Development doing with the $1.5 billion Congress approved for a new program called the Homeless Prevention Fund?.... So Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican Whip in the House, and GOP Sen. John Thune have set up a working group to track spending as best they can.......

"Right now we have very little access to information as to what the agencies are up to, prior to the money actually being spent," Cantor says. "Agencies will give you information in very broad terms, without many specifics."

That's where local news reports, dug up on the Internet, come in. When a city or county official learns that he will receive a pile of federal money, he usually tells the nearby newspaper or TV station.....

Such searches led the Cantor-Thune group to the Binghamton, New York Press & News-Bulletin for a glimpse into how HUD is spending that $1.5 billion in the Homeless Prevention Fund. In early March, the paper reported that the small town of Union, New York would receive $578,661 from the Fund, even though "Union did not request the money and does not currently have homeless programs in place in the town to administer such funds."

An article in the Altoona Mirror reported that the small central Pennsylvania town was going to receive $819,000 from the Fund even though Altoona officials "may not have enough of a homelessness problem to use it." And a Google search turned up a report from WHP-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania saying the city would receive $855,478 from the Fund, but does not know what to do with it.

Oh, Republicans--so predictably playing into the all-too-common linking of any sense that government should be frugal with taxpayers money to these Scrooge-like kicks in the shins to the homeless, but, well, that's what they like to do (and I'm sure they'd argue that this is a matter of bureaucrats lining their own pockets in fanciful ways and not about helping the homeless at all; still, the symbolism is rotten and there are a plethora of other places they could look for fiscal malfeasance).

That couple of million these eagle-eyes are complaining about here is extremely small change in Obama's era of Big Change. But the larger question of how any of our elected representatives can represent us when it comes to how this flood of cash bombards the land remains. And the answer is, they can't, and that's exactly how the sultans of stimulus want it.

Comments

|4.10.09 @ 12:23PM|#

In this melting economy and our lawmakers complete resistance to the US publics policies. American patriots must do the right thing and stop this violation of Federal law. No doubt it will be very difficult because the administration in power, is run by Left wing Democrats. Sen. David Vitter, Republican-LA has drafted S95, a law if enacted, could kill all funding to any city that is infamously branded a "Sanctuary City." With indifference to American populations outcry any city that entertains as a refuge to illegal immigrants. They will have to search the deep pockets of their business co-conspirators, to insure costs for services. We all know the 50 Senators including Harry Reid, and Madam Pelosi who secretly suppressed e-verify, so that more than 300.000 illegal labor, could compete for jobs with American Workers, attributed to the Stimulus/ Omnibus spending. Reid of Nevada, as Mrs. Pelosi of California aware that their states were inundated with illegal aliens, so they had to do something? Likely the reason they made funding for E-Verify funding disappear?


What are any of these idiots thinking, when their are 10 million jobless Americans right now in these United States? They must be undead zombies not to realize without any logic, that we can't afford to subsidize as estimated by the Heritage Foundation 40 million illegal aliens? Perhaps professional people in limited numbers with absolute skills in the scientific fields. But certainly not uneducated, indigent labor who competes with legal low skilled whites, blacks or any other color, creed or religion? We all must be bloody fools not to recognize, that California nearly went into a $47 billion dollar crash. Because of the payout to the illegal poor who have figured out the way to short change Americans of their pay checks.

A great example of the avenue illegal aliens have fraudulently, exploited free money is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In his book financial analyst and economist Edwin Rubinstein. He states that (EITC) is the largest anti-poverty program in the United States -- and the most illegal-immigrant friendly. In 2007, more than 23 million households received more than $47 billion in the EITC payments. Much of the so-called "tax relief" goes to people who never paid a cent in taxes, and may have already defrauded the government of huge sums each year. EITC has become yet another means of depriving hard-working Americans of their own resources. It robs some to give to others. he EITC is the most accessible of the major entitlement programs and used by more people than food stamps and welfare (TANF)* combined he admits.
Also know America settles more new legal immigrants, than any place on Mother Earth. Over 1.5 million immigrants were nationalized last year.


Should this law get the backing of millions of Americans, we have the tremendous influence to sever most welfare benefits and government handouts, to anybody who steals into a sovereign country without being processed. In states like California where in just Los Angeles county alone, an estimated 4 million illegal nationals have settled there. The clogged schools have become a breeding ground for violence, because non-English comprehension is prevalent there. Even the main school office English is spoken as a second language. The people's safety net is now overwhelmed by families, who have learned to tap every social welfare program available. Legal or otherwise! Even Federal programs-for citizens only-- has been compromised, including low income housing, pre-natal and after birth care, hospital emergency care, where the illegal uninsured, dumped on the entrance to a hospital by pirate contractors and business owners. It is Left for the taxpayer, to pick up the bill. Not just for major injury, but for flue, nail fungus or anything minor--and its free. All the while citizens are interrogated for their insurance card, social security number or money to pay. They get Scott-free care and we get a phone call from a debt collector or end up in front of a bankruptcy judge. California was just one state where local government has intentionally ignored the "Rule of Law." Poor foreign nationals have turned our neighborhoods into littered streets and heinous crime scenes as never before in our history.



Today we have a slender chance to stop this caricature of our laws. Call, write, fax or phone and make your demands real to these pro-illegal immigrant legislators. It seems their arrogant attitude can overrule the will of THE PEOPLE. The president has already informed us that an Amnesty is being readied. The problem is after the 1986 Amnesty, we were avidly promised--NO MORE. If yet another Amnesty is passed, the impoverished outside our lands will keep coming. Taxpayers have--and will be a permanent--THE BEAST OF BURDEN. Taxpayer in-perpetuity will be expected to carry in social services for every lawbreaker. We cannot afford another Amnesty. Every family from Guatemala, Kowloon and Bombay can sponsor all and every relative they possess and you end up paying for our traitorous politicians.

Go to CAPSWEB to utilize their petition to condemn Sanctuary cities. Read the facts at NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIALWATCH, FAIR AND AMERICAN PATROL

|4.10.09 @ 12:38PM|#

WALL OF TEXT

I have to figure out a way onto the gravy train. I mean, if I don't, some other asshole will, right? And you'd rather I had it, right? At least I'd spend it on useful things, like hookers and blow.

|4.10.09 @ 12:53PM|#

Brittanus,

I welcome our brown brothers from the south and am willing to allow our government to use as many of your hard earned dollars to support the metsicans as necessary. It's my way of voting against your hatred.

ed|4.10.09 @ 12:54PM|#

Brevity is the soul of wit, Brit.
But if you're going to write a treatise, at least do it well.

|4.10.09 @ 1:01PM|#

Everyone surprised by the fact that they don't know where the money went raise your hand.


I'm waiting...


No one? Didn't think so.

Xeones|4.10.09 @ 1:01PM|#

You guys actually read all of that?

Bronwyn|4.10.09 @ 1:04PM|#

I sure didn't. I was hoping someone would summarize.

|4.10.09 @ 1:08PM|#

It's mainly a rant against the mexican scourge taking our jobs and usin up all the welfare. He talks about the lack of english speaking amongst mexicans while butchering the english language hisself.

|4.10.09 @ 1:13PM|#

You guys actually read all of that?

I sure didn't. I was hoping someone would summarize.

Nor did I but I can guess, it appears to be a longwinded rant about something completely off topic.
_________________________________________________
OK I scanned it to see WTF his obsession was. He hatez the wetsybacksies. Fortunately we at H&R know how to deal with this type of obsessed behavior.

Shut the fuck up, Brittanicus!

Bronwyn|4.10.09 @ 1:17PM|#

Ah. Glad I didn't waste my time, then.

Shut the fuck up, Brittanicus.

Or at the very least, keep your asshattery limited to 100 words or less.

I'm feeling generous.

Warty|4.10.09 @ 1:24PM|#

I see Brittanicus found the random text generator.

Warty|4.10.09 @ 1:25PM|#

Shut the preemptive fuck up, Lonewacko.

Kunal|4.10.09 @ 1:45PM|#

An AmericanPatriot named Brittanicus??

kinnath|4.10.09 @ 1:53PM|#

I have a plan:

We clamp GPS ankle bracelets on all elected officials. Then we surgically implant microphones and transmitters so that everything the officials say and hear is broadcast to a website complete with locations and time stamps.

I'm gonna call the service "twatsters".

kinnath|4.10.09 @ 1:59PM|#

In version 2.0, we'll need to hook up unelected bureaucrats as well.

|4.10.09 @ 2:24PM|#

An AmericanPatriot named Brittanicus??


Beats Germanicus by a few hundred miles.

EJM|4.10.09 @ 2:27PM|#

From Mr. York's article, as quoted above...

An article in the Altoona Mirror reported that the small central Pennsylvania town was going to receive $819,000 from the Fund even though Altoona officials "may not have enough of a homelessness problem to use it."

From Wikipedia's listing on the city...

The population was 49,523 at the 2000 census, making it the ninth most populous city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Scranton, Bethlehem and Lancaster.

(I'm pointing this out just because I often feel that political reporters tend to use "small" to describe any municipality that they haven't been to before.)

|4.10.09 @ 2:43PM|#

"Beats Germanicus by a few hundred miles."

Germanicus was a great man. Had Julia not whacked him, he would have been a great emperor.

Lord Jubjub|4.10.09 @ 3:11PM|#

I would definitely call 50,000 people a medium to large town, not a small one. I would probably start using city once the population reaches 100,000. A small town would have to be in the 20-30,000 range.

Warty|4.10.09 @ 3:38PM|#

A village is 50-500 people. A hamlet is 500-1000. A small town is 1000-5000. Anything bigger than that is just high-falutin'.