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August 17, 2011 at 7:39 pm #600185
WS WoodyMemberThe SeattlePI.com story told how Mike McGinn stood at the White House with Joe Biden last year to celebrate the $20-million federal grant Seattle had been awarded for a “green jobs” program.
McGinn and Biden explained how this 20-mil would create 2,000 living-wage jobs and retrofit 2,000 homes in poorer neighborhood to make them more energy efficient.
Well… they’ve come this close to hitting those goals.
Instead of creating 2,000 jobs, they’ve created… 14
And they haven’t quite hit the 2,000 figure for homes that have been improved. So far, they’ve retrofitted… 3 houses
August 17, 2011 at 8:07 pm #732383
TemocMemberYikes! Really?
August 17, 2011 at 8:11 pm #732384
christopherboffoliParticipantWell it’s hardly earth-shattering news that government is paralyzed by bureaucracy and wastes money. I mean, whoa daddy. Stop the presses!
August 17, 2011 at 8:46 pm #732385
metrognomeParticipantWSWoody — can you provide documentation of anything you’re saying? In the realm of government (or private industry, for that matter), a year is not a lot of time to set up a new program. Is there a timeline for the rest of the houses? Have they already spent all the money?
August 17, 2011 at 11:20 pm #732386
TDeParticipantAugust 18, 2011 at 1:45 am #732387
metrognomeParticipantwhat this really seems to be an example of is poor journalism and a misleading headline. Nowhere does it say how much money has been spent. As there are still 2 years and 4 months to go in the grant cycle, the program is hardly a bust. Generally, with a grant like this, unexpended funds are returned to the feds.
And the reason for the slow start is the tanked economy; the city applied for the grant when Nickels was mayor and the economy was better. The dual purposes of the grant were to provide jobs and weatherize homes; thanks to the Bush years, very few people are remodeling, hence there are no jobs for the workers to go to:
“Called Community Power Works, the program funds low-interest loans and incentives for buildings to do energy-efficient upgrades. They include hospitals, municipal buildings, big commercial structures and homes.
“Half the funds are reserved for financing and engaging homeowners in Central and Southeast Seattle, a historically underserved area. Most of the jobs are expected to come from this sector.
“But the timing of the award has led to hurdles in enticing homeowners to bite on retrofits…
“By the time Seattle won the award, homeowners were battered by unemployment and foreclosures. The long-term benefits of energy upgrades lacked the tangible punch of a new countertop. And the high number of unemployed construction workers edged out new weatherization installers for the paltry number of jobs.”
source: URL in post 5
August 18, 2011 at 2:19 am #732388
kootchmanMemberCan’t get much lower financing than we have now. US Treasuries yielding zilch. I wouldn’t invest one single penny in my house until I see a clear sign that the bottom of the real estate bust is over. We gave Cree over 87 million in stimulus money.. Obama even touted them as a success in “investing in new green technologies”… within 30 days of receiving the money….they doubled their outsource from China… makes ya want to “invest” in more green energy. We give crop ethanol a ton of “stimulus” help..and our grain prices skyrocket…who takes the hit? You. At the grocery store and the butcher shop. Take you shots at the politico system as you will.. but ya can’t say the federal government is getting any jobs out of the first trillion spent..and we are talking about a second round? China will send a thank-you card. Betcha neother Biden or Obama stands on the vacant Cree manufacturing floor again…touting their wise investments…
I wonder how hard the CEO was laughing after they left and he cashed the check.
Here’s few of our stimulus jobs.. One small example of stimulus spending…
August 18, 2011 at 2:21 am #732389
kootchmanMember“Nearly $2 billion in money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been spent on wind power, funding the creation of enough new wind farms to power 2.4 million homes over the past year. But the study found that nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines.”
August 18, 2011 at 2:26 am #732390
JanSParticipantwell, darn…must have been that Obamacare…
August 18, 2011 at 3:09 am #732391
metrognomeParticipantwell, kootch, maybe you should design an American-made wind turbine. You seem to know a lot about … never mind, guess I can’t say that.
August 18, 2011 at 3:26 am #732392
JoBParticipantAugust 18, 2011 at 4:13 am #732393
kootchmanMemberThat’s the problem with billions…no trillions… it’s hard to keep track of them. As long as it sounds good…sounds like a freebie…by god we will vote for it. We know we can’t or won’t control Medicare fraud… no one comments on the links to the UW fraud.. so.. what do we do? We give em’ more to piss away. You guys are like choosing up teams with the short straw deciding…now you brought the brand new baseball, sorta to get a chance to play.but. you get the short straw…and want best 2 out of three..then best 3 out of 7… ad infinitum…you actually think you are going to get to play? Thanks for the ball, sucker.
August 18, 2011 at 5:50 am #732394
metrognomeParticipanta poem … by Henry Gibson
There once was a man from Kootch
Whose posts seemed to be made entirely of hootch
His predictions so dire
Would make readers nearly expire
From laughing while reading the blog with their pooch.
Thank you.
August 18, 2011 at 11:00 am #732395
kootchmanMemberNice limerick…sorta.
August 18, 2011 at 11:06 am #732396
kootchmanMemberLieberman… During the Clinton years..revenue was 19% of GDP…spending 18 per cent… today… revenue is 15%…spending 25% … I’d go back. … there it is… the grand compromise.
August 18, 2011 at 2:35 pm #732397
JoBParticipantmetrognome..
i had no idea you had that in you ;)
anyone for a limerick contest?
I’m not supposed to laugh..
but entertainment is in such short supply when you are recuperating ;->
August 18, 2011 at 3:41 pm #732398
2 Much WhineParticipantKootchman admitted that in his heart he yearns,
For the days when Clinton chased interns,
The money was flowing,
His 401K was growing,
Funny how time can erase your concerns.
They say hindsight is 20/20,
And opinions Kootch sure has plenty,
They lean to the right,
He posts feverishly through the night,
I’m guessing he sucked down another venti.
August 19, 2011 at 5:43 am #732399
metrognomeParticipantJoB — check out the ‘zucchini post’. I have another one being readied for our own TR (shhh, don’t tell her …)
2MW — I bow to the master!! (or mistress … can’t really tell for sure from avatars.)
August 19, 2011 at 6:08 am #732400
metrognomeParticipantok, JoB, get ready (that reminds me of an old joke that I can’t repeat out here …)
A Poem. By Henry Gibson.
To an unabashed liberal named JoB
A neo-conservative is an arch-enemy
Of certain things she is sure
And to Kootch she will *never* demur
For he does not say things “lib – er – a – ly”
Thank you.
alternative ending:
“All you have to do is ask Mister JoB”
second alternative ending:
“And she LOVES the Big Le – bow – ski”
August 19, 2011 at 1:50 pm #732401
JoBParticipantmetrognome…
you made me laugh too much
hubby would vote for the Mister JoB ending
but i suspect most males feel somewhat put upon by the opinionated confident women in their lives ;->
thanks for starting my morning with a big smile…
unabashed indeed!
August 19, 2011 at 3:48 pm #732402
dhgParticipantMetrognome: FTFY
There once was a man named Kootch
Whose posts were inspired by hootch
His predictions were dire
Making readers expire
From laughter while reading to pooch.
August 19, 2011 at 6:33 pm #732403
2 Much WhineParticipantNice fix, dhg. Can you make mine flow a little better too? And metrognome, both the elephant and the person are male and no need to bow.
August 20, 2011 at 1:05 am #732404
dhgParticipantThanks for the invite, 2 Much Whine.
Kootchman finds his heart burns
For the days of Clinton’s interns
The money was flowing
The 401 growing
Odd how time erases concerns.
Though Kootch’s thoughts are plenty
Hindsight is twenty twenty
Posted feverishly at night
They lean to the right
Amped up with a quad venti
August 20, 2011 at 1:08 am #732405
2 Much WhineParticipantdhg, FTW! Nice.
August 20, 2011 at 6:19 pm #732406
redblackParticipantDuring the Clinton years..revenue was 19% of GDP…spending 18 per cent… today… revenue is 15%…spending 25% … I’d go back. … there it is… the grand compromise.
i’ve been meaning to comment on this post for a couple of days, but work took me out of town. interesting that something you said jumped out at me, kootch. maybe more interesting that you actually said it. :)
i have to say, kootch, i’ve been looking at those numbers, too, and i think you’re spot on – or at least on the right track. the federal budget is now a lower percentage of GDP than it has ever been. and revenues are in the basement – for whatever reason.
historically, the budget has always risen as the GDP rises. why do we want to go tinkering with that? just to make some vague political platitude about the government being “too big” without ever defining, discussing, or even examining the parameters?
why should the government not have the revenue to deal with an exploding population, an aging infrastructure, and a daily increase in the number of job-seekers entering the market? it makes absolutely no good fiscal sense to cut taxes while necessary expenditures are rising.
yes, “necessary” means medicaid. medicare. welfare. food stamps. the highway administration. the FAA. enforcing regulations against the health insurance industry and oil companies. all of it.
yeah, kootch, revenue was 19% of GDP under clinton… but now the deferment of infrastructure projects and chronically large debt has necessitated a bigger slice of that pie. for a while, anyway. sure, lower that 25% a little bit, but raise the revenue side a bit more to bring the numbers back into the black.
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