Townhall.com The Blogspot for Political, Conservative and Republican Blogs and Bloggers

There have been a number of recent stories exposing the complete folly of the so-called "stimulus" plan and the number of jobs claimed to have been "created or saved" by this rapacious spending undertaken by the Obama Administration.  Take for instance, the 935 jobs at the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, the administration it claimed to have 'saved', even though they really only employ 508 people.   Or how about the 129 jobs that were said to have been 'created' at a childcare center in Florida when the money was actually used for employee raises, and not new jobs.

Using these methods, in Obama speak, today I created or saved 3,000 calories towards my diet. Clearly, I could have eaten 300 more calories if I tried, but I "saved" those calories due to my stimulus plan. At this rate, I could lose 100,000 calories while still gaining weight! Now, that is Obamanomics.

Well, many have already become expert 'Obamanomists.' I asked some of my constituents in Orange County, CA for their experiences using 'Obamanomics,' and I recieved many good responses, but the one below is by far my favorite.  I am interested in hearing your best example of 'Obamanomics.'

Dear John:

Using Obamamath, I've just saved, nay, created a great deal of money. How? I had wanted to buy a new Lamborghini Gallardo roadster so that I could drive to the White House to personally thank our beloved President for all that he is doing to save us from financial ruin. The trip, via New Orleans in order to view the results of former President Bush's failure to forestall Hurricane Katrina, would have been an approximately 6,000-mile roundtrip.

I didn't buy the Lamborghini, as it wasn't manufactured by Government Motors. I not only saved (created) some $243,000 (including tax) by not making this purchase, but I saved (created) an additional $1,500 by not purchasing fuel for the trip.

Since both the Gallardo and its fuel would have been imported, I'm sure that the Governmental Accountability Office would classify these as "green" savings.

Thus by not buying a Lamborghini Gallardo, and not driving it to visit our President, I will have created a total of $244,500 in Green Savings. Not bad for an amateur!

But think for a moment: If each of the approximately 4 million families who live in Barack Obama's Illinois and Joe Biden's Delaware were to NOT buy a new Lamborghini, and NOT drive to the White House (via New Orleans), we would create an additional $1 trillion in new Green Wealth. Now that's Obamawealth with a vengeance!

 Add Congressman Campbell on Facebook!

The mood in Obama's foreign policy team is tense following an extended Asia trip that produced no palpable results. The "first Pacific president," as Obama called himself, came as a friend and returned as a stranger. The Asians smiled but made no concessions.

You may or may not know why this blog is titled the Greeneyeshade Blog.   I am a CPA by training, a self-professed bean-counter.  I also sit on 3 of Committees available to Members of the House that hold jurisdiction over areas of federal economic policy, budgeting, and economic analysis.  I feel it is particularly instructive that we take a look at some history…because after all, the numbers don’t lie.

- In February 2009, Democrats enacted a debt increase, with the premise and promise that by borrowing another trillion dollars would create jobs for more Americans and that it would happen immediately, thereby thwarting the unemployment rate from rising above 8%...we are now at 10.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is a 26 year high.

- Since taking control of Congress in January of 2007, Democrats have presided over a 39% increase in the nation’s debt from $8.670 trillion to $12.039 trillion.

- According to the President’s budget, the national debt will soar from $9.961 trillion at the start of 2009 to more than $24.4 trillion in 2019…that’s an increase of 144%.

“It is important though to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession.”

—President Barack Obama, November 18, 2009

Recently, the White House indicated that it has plans to raise the national debt limit as part of a larger upcoming piece of legislation.  What this means is that the United States Government has run out of its statutory borrowing authority…just like the credit card you have in your wallet or purse…there is a limit on what one can spend.

This is the second time in 2009 that the debt limit has been increased. 

Here is a brief situation report of our economy right now:

• - The national debt has increased to $12.039 trillion or 85 % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• - The debt limit was raised from $11.315 trillion to $12.104 when Speaker Pelosi and President Obama passed their ‘non-stimulating’ stimulus bill, nine months ago.
• - The government is now roughly $70 billion away from reaching the current limit.
• - The White House is now seeking a debt limit increase of at least $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion—increasing the limit to anywhere from $13.1 trillion to $13.6 trillion.

I will have more on this and a historical glimpse in the past tomorrow.

There are some extra congressional districts in California receiving stimulus dollars…the trouble is, they don’t exist.

Recovery.gov, the web portal designed by the administration to provide transparency and information on where and how the President’s stimulus dollars were being spent lists 9 congressional districts in California that don’t exist, yet they apparently have received $5,740,757 in stimulus dollars, creating 24.2 jobs, which equates to about $237,221 per job.  This odd reporting isn’t limited to California either; ABC News has reported that instances of the same problems are popping up all over the country.

When asked about the problem, Ed Pound, director of communications for recovery.gov said "We're not certifying the accuracy of the information.”  Asked why recipients would pluck random numbers - 26, 45, 14 - to fill in for their congressional district, Pound replied, "who knows, man, who really knows. There are 130,000 reports out there.''

I don’t know about you, but I don’t see how the White House can allocate over $1 million in stimulus dollars to California’s 00 District, nor how you can claim to create jobs in a district that doesn’t exist…but if the White House can’t keep track of $787 billion, how are they going to track the $1.6 trillion for health care?!