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Not surprising, after abysmal numbers keep coming despite President Obama’s promise that wasting $700 billion in taxpayer money on the first stimulus package would create or save millions of jobs. The save part is a total lie and now it seems the create part is washing away as well, though much quieter.
ABC’s The Note reports:
When Vice President Joe Biden announced a new $3.3 billion grant program to upgrade the nation’s electricity network, the rationale was simple: “This is jobs — jobs,” he said in April.
But the Obama administration is now saying it will not take the potential for job creation into account in “rating” proposed projects for possible funding — after initially saying that would be a primary consideration.
In April, when the Energy Department first announced regulations for companies that wish to apply for “Smart Grid Investment Grants,” “job creation and retention” was among the explicit criteria.
“Projects will be evaluated based on the extent to which they create and retain jobs,” the Energy Department wrote in its official “Notice of Intent” for the grant program.
Other criteria included “project approach and feasibility” and “project impact.”
But late last month, the department quietly modified the criteria to take the job piece out. As the department explained in a June 26 set of Frequently Asked Questions:
“These criteria differ significantly from those presented within the [Notice of Intent]. First, DOE removed the criterion on the extent of jobs creation and now will require applicants, as stipulated within the Recovery Act, to report quarterly on the number of jobs created and retained.”
In a question-and-answer section written to help applicants understand the process, the document continues: “Will DOE use the number of jobs estimated to be created and/or retained as a criterion for rating a proposal for funding?”
“No. Although job creation is not included in the technical criteria used to rate proposals, it plays an important role throughout the grant process, and grant recipients are required to submit the numbers of jobs created and retained in their quarterly reports to DOE and to recovery.gov.”
No further explanation was given. A Department of Energy spokeswoman said that, despite the change, job creation still “will be taken into account as one of several factors in the application review,” since the program is being implemented in accordance with the goals articulated in the stimulus package.
“The goal of the Recovery Act is to support projects that will create jobs now and usher in a clean energy economy that will also create jobs for years to come,” the spokeswoman, Jen Stutsman, said in a written statement.
But Energy Department officials declined to answer questions about why the grant evaluation process was made.
The shift means less emphasis will be placed on the potential for job creation as the Energy Department decides which projects to fund — even as the stimulus package has come under fire for not doing more to spark job creation.
The “smart grid” project aims to upgrade the nation’s electricity system to promote energy efficiency and reliability. Jobs impacted by the “smart grid” investments could include everything from meter manufacturers and installers to software providers and managers; the deadline to apply for grants is August 6, so no funding decisions have been made yet.
Katherine Hamilton, president of the GridWise Alliance, which advocates for “smart grid” investments, said she was not aware of the change until contacted by ABC.
She said the Energy Department appears to have decided that emphasizing job creation may not produce the breadth of projects that are needed to upgrade the nation’s electrical network.
“Job creation can be very artificial” as a way to measure a project’s worth, Hamilton said. “It could be that they realized that.”
After money for the project was included in the $787 billion stimulus program signed by President Obama in February, the administration has touted it as a key job-creating venture.
When Biden announced the “smart-grid” grant program in April, at a transformer factor in Jefferson City, Mo., he said it was about “jobs — jobs.”
“I’m happy to announce today the Department of Energy plans to distribute nearly $3.4 billion — $3.4 billion — in Smart Grid technology development grants. Your management here, and all of you, you are in the business of being able to compete for those. This is jobs — jobs,” Biden said.
Well, Joe, apparently it’s not going to be J-O-B-S like you claimed. In fact, this is simply an illustration of the entire stimulus package at it’s worst. Liberal Government projects like greening the electrical grid in this country will not produce jobs in the short or long term, as once touted.
Slowly but surely, this administration will have to answer for the claims it made time and time again which continue to not pan out in the time frame they set for themselves, that is the ironic part.
The “green job” myth is nonsense and will never come to fruition with the government trying to artificially impose it on the economy. “Green jobs” will be created when there is demand and thew private sector expands to meet that demand, those will be the only real “green jobs,” if such a thing exists. The government can subsidize an industry but it will never run efficiently or pan out the way it would in the private sector.
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Looks to me that the cap and trade bill will stimulate green energy or those who do not go to green energy will pay dearly in taxes and penalties. So companies are likely to go green and hire people to help them to go green.
If the grant applicants are the ones to determine HOW MANY JOBS ARE CREATED AND THE MONEY APPROPIATED IS BASED ON THAT HOW MUCH TRUTH DO YOU SUPPOSE WILL BE IN THESE APPLICATIONS? The administration will then turn around and say “Hey we didn’t lie here’s the number of jobs we were told the money created.” This is just a weak C.Y.A. tactic that they feel won’t come back and bite them on the *** later.The only jobs it’s going to create “for years to come” Ms. Stutsman is for the politicans pushing this boondoggle and people who will profit from it like yourself..
Not only is this myth of putting to much faith on green energy to supple our needs bogus but as was posted in a prior discussion thread President Obama said during an interview in January 2008 (San Francisco Chronicle)if his “Cap and Trade program went through the publics electric bill will skyrocket.”
D.D.Mao,
Good point, perhaps there will be some false information in the applications. Perhaps there should people someone in place to investigate all applicants to make sure that those applying are not falsifying information (wasn’t that the job of the fellow who got fired by the Obama Administration without notice?). Certainly there will be penalties for those who falsify information on government grant applications and for anyone in government that falsifies information.
If there is not someone in place whose job is specifically for these sort of matters, than perhaps those of us who want truth should get someone appointed.
If Obama said that back in 1/2008, someone should call him out on it, I’d love to hear his response. Especially since the light bill that came in the mail yesterday is already $317. Granted I keep my thermostat on 70F and in Florida the heat index has been averaging 100F so far this summer.
Kendale……..Unfortunatly no one will inflict any penalties on people who falsify information.It wouldn’t benifit either party.The government would lose a grant and God forbid NOT HAVE ANYTHING FOR BACKUP TO JUSIFY THEIR PROGRAMS EXISTANCE and the person getting the grant having no funds to continue the bogus program (or entitlement)and thus no need to donate (or vote)to the politician to get re-elected.Lets just do away with the program and not appoint anyone and create more needless government bureaucracy.
As far as the remark that these grants won’t be based on the number of jobs they create then why ask how many it will create? This is about as much B.S. as when they say college admissions won’t be based on Affirmitive Action….but they still ask what race you are.
The FOUR things politicians OF ANY PARTY follow is:
1) COVER YOUR A**
2) THE MORE POWER YOU HAVE THE MORE YOU HAVE CONTROL AND THUS BETTER CHANCE GETTING RE-ELECTED.
3) BELIEVE THE PEOPLE WORK FOR YOU …YOU DON’T WORK FOR THE PEOPLE!
4) JUSTIFY YOUR EXISTANCE IN WASHINGTON
STAY COOL DOWN IN FLORIDA BRO !
D.D.Mao
With what you just said, no wonder why people want smaller government. Putting it that way makes government as a whole sound down right disgusting.
I read Newt Gingrich “Rediscovering God in America”
Good book. I mean I am no historian, but if there are no faulty historical information in his book, I don’t think I will attempt to find any, I just don’t have the patience, then this book really shines a light on government of the past.
I shows how the founding fathers had a great deal of religious faith and how it may have aided in not only the establishment of slavery but dictated how they felt that the people oh the world had irrefutable rights given not by the land or government or law, but from God. I really respect that on many levels.
As I’ve said before, and I still stand firm on this, I do not believe that our laws are those that completely go hand in hand with the bible.
I also have noticed that countries that follow any religion to the T end up with negative results. Why? Because there are some very awful things in all religions. At the same time, if you compare all the popular world religions, they all point to the same positive morals and values that would be more than an excellent way to govern all nations.
I wont qoute the book, or post the qoutes that Newt used but in short, some of the founding fathers believe that not only America, but all countries should recognize and submit to God and honor gods law. Which, overall would be nice, but by no means should we start another Christian Crusade.
Another thing that we can’t do is say that The US is a Christian, Islamic, Judaistic, or any other religion primarily. Newt also says this in his book which pushed me to respect the book even more. Although he states this he still can’t go without making references to the US being of Judeo-Christian beginnings and should be that way. Which I will not deny that the founding fathers did have a christian or catholic faiths. One part he talked about how one of the presidential memorials has the 10 commandments on the floor of the hall and that this is the basis of all law in the US. I am all for that, as long as we remove the first few commandments that are solely ones based on god.
He also goes through the first amendment and how it affects things such as the pledge of allegiance, which is truly why he wrote the book; because someone went to the supreme court to remove the words “under god” from it.
Anyhow, great book, totally worth the read, and I totally agree with him on discussing God in the classroom and openly in the public. If we were a nation under god and our laws were based on the laws/rights given by god, we’d likely be a better nation, just as long as we do not incorporate those parts of religious texts that seem to stray away from the 10 commandments and the good morals/values that they possess. (Jihad, stoning, and any other so-called justifiable violence being examples.
D.D.Mao, have you read this book? If not, give it a shot, you wont be disappointed. I read it at the library today.
Kendale……..No I haven’t gotten around to reading Mr. Gingrich’s new book. In fact I didn’t know that much about it until your post.It sounds like what I have been trying to express in some of my past post however in a very poor way.
In addition to our founding fathers having a strong Christian belief they also had a incredible knowledge of human nature which shows up again and again in the Federalist papers.Thus there belief that the smaller the government and less involement by man the better.This is shown in the Bill of Rights where they define WHAT THE GOVERNMENT CAN NOT DO TO US AND NOT WHAT WE CAN’T DO. Many quotes from them also show this caution in human nature.
I am not being completely funny when I say this but; I have a hunch that the founding fathers had a large respect for spirituality, amongst other things, because there was less to distract a person from it in those times.
There was no television, radio, people did not live in such close proximity as we do now, there were no amusement parks, video games, internet, people read tons more books which were geared towards educating rather than entertaining. I could go on longer, but you get the idea.
Undoubtedly secularist were around then as they are now though they were not so popular or spoken about in history, or simply called other things.
Today’s politicians are far more brainwashed. The struggle for power has been going on since human existence so I will not blame it on that, as well as the struggle for money. I believe politicians have simply somehow forgot how society and government works for “the people.” Government intrusion and bureaucracy have gone out of control. We lost focus of being the United States and have become America The Federally Governed. As the states could run themselves but no longer due. Is this because the federal government wants to run the states, or is it because states such as California (Who are requesting $26billion more for their budget), reach out to the government to finance them, or both?
There is nothing I could add to your last post that would clarify it more.Well said!
It Can’t Happen Here
by Patrick J. Buchanan
07/10/2009
Pat really drops the ball on this one. I do not believe he meant to deliver the message that he has. I’m sure his point was not what actually made it into writing. Perhaps he was having a bad day or was tired when he wrote this.
http://www.humanevents.co.....p?id=32654
“Where Beijing floods its borderlands with Han to reduce indigenous populations to minorities, and stifles religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity, America, declaring, “Diversity is our strength!” invites the whole world to come to America and swamp her own native-born.” I hate when people say things like this, as of colonial Europeans are the native American’s. How absurd and pompous.
“Indeed, we now happily predict the year, 2042, when Americans of European ancestry become a minority in a country whose Founding Fathers declared it set aside for “ourselves and our posterity.” Again, so because Europeans came to America, slaughtered many, and pushed many more away from their homeland, we (Europeans), and we alone are soul owners of this land? That is very scary to me. That is very unlike what I read about in Newt Gingrich’s book I just read. Pat’s statement here is very unlike the message of Christianity, very different. Perhaps we should turn into Israel/Palestine.
“Without the assent of her people, America is being converted from a Christian country, nine in 10 of whose people traced their roots to Europe as late as the time of JFK, into a multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual, multicultural Tower of Babel not seen since the late Roman Empire.
The city farthest along the path is Los Angeles, famous worldwide for the number, variety, and size of its ethnic and racial street gangs.
Not to worry. It can’t happen here. ”
How incredibly racist is this article? How does diversity so quickly turn to “Racial street gangs”? He completely went from talking about diversity to calling it a breeding ground for gangs. So is that what diversity is?
Is this what our forefathers wanted? Is this Judeo-Christian? If I can recall, the bible states that God of the Jews created diversity, so was it bad?
“Without the assent of her people, America is being converted from a Christian country, nine in 10 of whose people traced their roots to Europe as late as the time of JFK, into a multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual, multicultural Tower of Babel not seen since the late Roman Empire.”
Pat used Genesis 11:1-9 The tower of Babel. The tower of Babel was a tower that Gods people were building in attempts to reach the heavens. God did not approve of this and came down and created multiple languages amongst these people so they could not communicate and thus they stop building this tower. I haven’t the slightest idea how Pat was trying to use this Biblical account to say that diversity is a bad thing. God wanted diversity because he believed it was necessary to prevent a single group of people believing they could reach the heavens with their togetherness.
If you ask me, this is why trying to purify an area into 1 race, you see and create evil. God saw the evil of one race and created multiple.
I haven’t the slightest idea why Pat would write such rubbish with a loathing hatred for diversity.
Mr. Buchanan doesn’t speak for the whole right movement.He like many others fill a TEMORARY VOID due to a lack of a message we sometimes get off course and let the messenger instead of the message be the important factor.Such as we did in the early 1990’s when he held sway.
He is past his political sell by date!
haha OK
With things not going well for Obama, is time for a little distraction. Perhaps a little black mail for votes. Or help for Speaker of the House. Reality is not what it appears with Obama. Though motive not know yet.
“AP source: Holder considering torture probe”
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON –
“Attorney General Eric Holder is considering whether to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration’s interrogation practices, a controversial move that would run counter to President Barack Obama’s
wishes to leave the issue in the past.”
“A move to appoint a prosecutor is certain to stir partisan bickering that could create a distraction to Obama’s efforts to push health care and energy reform. Obama has repeatedly expressed reluctance to having a probe, saying the nation should be “looking forward and not backwards” when it came to Bush-era abuses.”
“I hope that whatever decision I make would not have a negative impact on the president’s agenda,” Holder told Newsweek. “But that can’t be a part of my decision.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/a.....rrogations
Obama recently fired a guy. To think this is not another ploy is unthinkable to me. Holder is following orders getting this leaked.
Obama nerves are shot. Market malfunction. Unemployment melt down. Guy is looking for needles in a hay stack to save his administration, Congress friends, and bills. His blaming Bush for economy has pasted away and is buried with head stone over the grave…kaputt…
New aversion needed. And this is an old, beat up, and not even a good old College try.
Imagination has left the building.
Old hat
http://www.youtube.com/wa.....368hrOv28k
“GOP unifies against any more stimulus spending
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 57 mins ago
WASHINGTON – “Republicans lined up Sunday in opposition to a second economic stimulus package, a rare demonstration of unity from an out-of-power political party in search of a rallying cry against President Barack Obama.”
“Republicans called Obama’s $787 billion spending plan a “flop” and said it hasn’t fulfilled its hype. They criticized the White House for increasing the federal deficit and doing little to combat an unemployment rate that hit 9.5 percent in June.”
“The reality is it hasn’t helped yet,” said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. “Only about 6.8 percent of the money has actually been spent. What I proposed is, after you complete the contracts that are already committed, the things that are in the pipeline, stop it.”
“A lot of it has been spent on ridiculous projects,” said Sen. John McCain
http://news.yahoo.com/s/a.....ma_economy
From my above link_
“The stimulus package is working exactly as we had anticipated,” Obama told CNN in an interview from Ghana that aired on Sunday.
“We always anticipated that a big chunk of that money then would be spent not only in the second half of the year, but also next year. This was designed to be a two-year plan and not a six-month plan,” he said.
What happen to shovel ready ???
……….
“Obama’s Stimulus… Shovel Ready?”
July 12, 2009
http://pumasunleashed.wor.....vel-ready/
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Perceptions of Obama
Results
Obama Approval Index
-7
Strongly Approve
28%
Strongly Disapprove
35%
Taxes Will Go Down
10%
Gov’t Spending Will Go Up
73%
Obama on Economy – Ex/Good
39%
Obama on Nat’l Sec – Ex/Good
42%
Leadership – Ex/Good
48%
Views Society as Fair
44%
Politically Liberal
70%
Iraq Priority – Troops Home
59%
Troops Home – End of 1st Term
66%
Obama on Energy – Ex/Good
50%
Supreme Ct Choices Too Liberal
41%
More Ethical Than Most Politicians
38%
Ethics Ex/Good
45%
Trust Obama on Economic Crisis
30%
……….
National Tracking: Taxes
Help
Hurt
Tax Increases Help or Hurt Economy?
24%
55%
Tax Cuts Help or Hurt Economy?
53%
22%
Increases in Gov’t Spending Help or Hurt Economy?
29%
52%
Decreases in Gov’t Spending Help or Hurt Economy?
47%
28%
http://www.rasmussenrepor.....he_numbers
“The Adolescent Angst of Barack Obama”
A Commentary by Michael Barone
Thursday, June 25, 2009
http://www.rasmussenrepor.....rack_obama