According to
recovery.gov, the 2nd congressional district of Utah has received $802,465,348 from the federal government in stimulus money and has saved 2,240.3 jobs. Doing the simple math with big numbers, that gives us $358,243.46 for each job. Those are some big numbers that pose lots of questions:
- How do you save 3/10 of a job?
- How do they know so precisely how many jobs were saved?
- How much are the people working these jobs getting?
- How are we going to pay for all this?
What the website does not detail is what the money is actually spent on. From the FAQ we read how the jobs saved is computed:
Recipients calculate the number of jobs created or saved by taking the total number of Recovery Act funded hours worked in a quarter, and dividing it by the number of hours of a full-time schedule in a quarter as defined by the Recipient.
In essence, a project is funded with recovery funds and then the number of hours working on the project is divided in money spent to get the number of jobs saved. What we don't know is how many of the projects would have been done anyway. Oh well, it is as good a guess as any.
Now, what if instead of funding the projects, they simply divided the money among all the unemployed in the state. Again, according to recovery.gov,
Utah has been awarded $1,502,981,542. The is one and a half billion, dollars. Then a recent
article on unemployment in Utah, 84,300 Utahns are out of work. Doing the simple math on big numbers again that means $17,828.96 for every unemployed person on Utah.
Actually, Utah has a
cool recovery site. In it we find that the Davis School District has spent $722,698 for 5 full time teaching positions. That works out the $144,539.60 for each teacher. Either school teachers are making a lot more money than they claim or where is the money going? Another $11,000,000 is being spent on
Assist in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities in accordance with Part B of the IDEA. That is a lot of assistance. Another 2.8 million is going to weatherize 300 low income homes, almost $10,000 per home.
Last example, $31,367,800 was spent to retain 174 employees of the SLCC arts program which works out to $180,274.71 per employee. Were they really going to get rid of the entire art department? Are the employees getting paid that much? Those art degrees really pay off.
These are all noble causes. But, it seems like the money could go a lot further. There are some good things being done but couldn't more be done? Teachers don't make that much money, weatherizing doesn't cost that much and jobs don't average over $300,000 a year, at least in this state.
Wireless Electricity, Explained | Design & Innovation | Fast Company: "Last month, Eric Giler, the CEO of WiTricity--the most technically advanced and ambitious company in the bunch--took the stage at TED Global to demonstrate the technology. The video has just been posted to the web, and it's amazing stuff. Watch as Giler walks through the magnectic field conveying the energy without getting fried, or even so much as tickled"
My daughters have a hard time finding swim wear. This is a good place to look.
Modest Swimwear - Juniors - Size 13: "Simply the best fabric on the market! Nice 'beefy' weight and phenomenal color absorption. Neck, back, and armholes cut a bit higher. Ties in the back. A very comfortable suit. Tops and bottoms sold separately. Choose print or solid."
I saw an article about an elephant that had fallen into a pit:
| Elephant rescue: "Yesterday afternoon at 2.30 we received an urgent call from a nearby farm, Embori that borders the Mt. Kenya Forest Reserve, reporting an elephant that had fallen into a pit latrine and was totally stuck. The exhausted elephant was surrounded by local community farmers, who were threatening to kill the animal for meat." |  |
In this story there is a metaphor for the Republican Party. I am a registered Republican and voted for John McCain in the last election. As a matter of fact I was hoping for a
McCain/Powell candidacy, but alas it was not to be. I stand to the right of center on most issues. It is important you understand where I stand when I make this statement: like the elephant in the Mt. Kenya Forest Reserve, the Republican Party is stuck in a pit and is doomed.
About one third of this country will vote Democratic regardless of whether Barrack Obama, Nancy Pelosie or Mickey Mouse is running. About one third of the country will vote Republican whether John McCain, Rush Limbaugh or Satan himself (the devil you know is better than the one you don't after all) is the candidate. That leaves about a third that actually decide the elections. These are those "independents", the "swing states". These are the people who for whatever reason go to the ballot box and decide who will be in office. Over the course of time they hear each party's message and then vote.
Who tells us what each party's message is?
For the Democrats it is President Obama who speaks for the party. A well-spoken well-thoughtout man who is able to deliver a meaningful message to the public. He scores very high on the "
not an embarrasement" scale. While others of his party are more polarized, he does a very good job of speaking not only to his own party but also to those who are more moderate.
For the Republicans ..... anyone? anyone? The Republicans today do not have a clear voice that speaks to both the party and the independents. Who speaks for the Republican Party then? With no clear leader the void is being filled by Rush, Beck, Hannity and the like. These people are not elected, have no responsibility to any constituents and really have a different job than an office holder.
First and foremost they are entertainers. Their job is to have enough listeners that advertisers will pay to sponsor their various radio, television and other programs. That is it, simply entertainers. They have no duty to speak to the independents, no duty to compromise or even a duty to the truth. They use fear, uncertainty and doubt to get people to listen, much the same way the evening news operates. Indeed, it is not dissimilar to the propaganda tactics of world war II that would demonize the enemy. In this case the enemy is the Democratic Party and the theory is that anything that comes from the Democrats is wrong.
With this model of entertainment, they make the most outlandish claims because it is in their own best interest to do so. Barack's birth certificate and death panels are are just some of the more recent arguments made by these entertainers. It gets people angry or scared, and therefore keeps them listening. Even better if they are talked about in other news outlets. There is no bad publicity after all.
Public policy debate is sidetracked by politics aimed to make the enemy look bad rather than dealing with the issues and making decisions that are best for the country. I am a Republican and I see it for what it is. The moderates and independents see it for what it is. Worse, since the entertainers' position is one of simply destroying the enemy, the conservative position is excluding itself from having a meaningful impact on public policy.
Where does all this leave the Republic Party? Sinking into the pit.
With no clear voice that can speak for the party, the entertainers are speaking for the party. With each more outlandish accusation, each half-truth and each new conspiracy, the independants are thinking "these guys are nuts" and "how can anyone really believe all this?" You are not intended to believe it, just be entertained by it.
I am a Republican and these people do not speak for me. As long as there is no leader who can speak not only to the party but also to the independents the party will remain mired in the pit. If the current lack of leadership remains, the party will continue to splinter and will slowly disappear into lots of little groups. I do not really expect that to happen but until a true leader who is not simply an entertainer steps up, the elephant will remain in the pit.
