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ICYMI: Michael Barone looks at unions and the “stimulus”
When the Democrat Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the $787 Billion “stimulus” plan last year, was the American public really given an accurate idea of how their tax dollars would be spent?
As Michael Barone writes in The Washington Examiner, “One-third of last year’s $787 billion stimulus package was aid to state and local governments — an obvious attempt to bolster public-sector unions. And a successful one: While the private sector has lost 7 million jobs, the number of public-sector jobs has risen. The number of federal government jobs has been increasing by 10,000 a month, and the percentage of federal employees earning over $100,000 has jumped to 19 percent during the recession.”
Clearly, political payback was the end result of the first stimulus package. Those who elected Barack Obama president and Nancy Pelosi speaker are enjoying the rising tides of public-sector union dues. What remains to be seen is whether the public sector will get a better showing if Congress presses forward with a second stimulus this year? While government bureaucracies – and their public sector unions – certainly benefited from last year’s “stimulus”, there are 7 million newly unemployed Americans, and their families, who likely no longer support the plan.
Interested readers may CLICK HERE to read Michael Barone’s article in its entirety.
