Tom Coburn was on fire this week:
We are going to spend $448 million to build the Department of Homeland Security a new building. We have $1.3 trillion worth of empty buildings right now, and because it has been blocked in Congress we can't sell them, we can't raze them, we can't do anything, but we are going to spend money on a new building here in Washington. We are going to spend another $248 million for new furniture for that building; a quarter of a billion dollars for new furniture. What about the furniture the Department of Homeland Security has now? These are tough times. Should we be buying new furniture? How about using what we have? That is what a family would do. They would use what they have. They wouldn't go out and spend $248 million on furniture.
He rants about all the stupid crap that's in the stimulus bill. Another little funny line:
We have $75 million for smoking cessation activities, which probably is a great idea, but we just passed a bill—the SCHIP bill—that we need to get 21 million more Americans smoking to be able to pay for that bill. That doesn't make sense.
Seriously, read the whole thing. And feel your head explode.
UPDATE:
See also 50 De-Stimulating Facts.
Posted by Sarah at February 6, 2009 12:32 PM | TrackBackDo I have to read the entire article to find out what the significance of the title is? Because unless whale biologists are known for spontaneous human combustion, I can't figure it out... =)
Sig
Posted by: Sig at February 6, 2009 02:39 PMHa, sorry, that was a very esoteric Futurama joke. In one episode, this guy says, "I calls 'em like I sees 'em; I'm a whale biologist."
Posted by: Sarah at February 6, 2009 04:27 PMThe Seinfeld episode "The Marine Biologist" episode came to my mind. But I think Coburn knows more about the "stimulus" than George Costanza knows about marine biology:
Then of course with evolution the octopus lost the nostrils and took on the more familiar look that we know today. But if you look really closely, you can still see a bump where the nose used to be.Posted by: Amritas at February 6, 2009 05:10 PM
My grandparents suffered through the depression farming and raising children. She said the motto of the time was "Use it up, wear it out, make it do. or do without." She even taught that to her grand and great grand children. I think these yahoos in DC could take a lesson from my grandmother.
Posted by: Pamela at February 7, 2009 01:00 AMMy head exploded after reading both articles. Can you pay more taxes to pay for 'free' reconstructive surgery, or better yet, a transplant from the neck up? I could use a gOOd brain with cOrrect thOughts. Surely the gOvernment could spend a billion on me!
Posted by: Amritas at February 7, 2009 09:53 PM