Digging a hole with Other People's Money

The state legislature is poised again to pass another budget repair bill for the current fiscal year. For those of you counting, this is attempt number three. Like the proposed state budget for next year, SB232 raids federal stimulus dollars to pay the state's operational costs:

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Current law lapses $291,000,000 in the 2008−09 fiscal year from the state school aid appropriation to the general fund and directs the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to use $291,000,000 in federal funds received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to make payments to school districts in June 2009.

This bill lapses an additional $261,278,000 in school aid to the general fund in the 2008−09 fiscal year and directs DPI to use an additional $261,278,000 in federal funds received under ARRA to make payments to school districts in June 2009. For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

Somebody really needs to ask President Obama on Thursday if this is what his administration meant by "shovel ready." The legislature is shovelling something all right.

"The American people are watching"

From the Chicago Tribune:

Obama cautioned the mayors today that the American people had placed their trust in their political leaders to spend the $787 billion wisely and that such trust would be squandered if mayors and other officials wound up wasting the money on dubious projects.

"If a federal agency proposes a project that will waste that money I will not hesitate to call them out on it and put a stop to it," Obama told mayors who gathered in the White House. "And I want everybody here to be on notice that if a local government does the same. I will call them out on it and use the full power of my office and our administration to stop it."

So how is this money any different from other money the mayors flush down the rathole? And will any of the mayors tell Obama that he is wasting money?

Senate passes stimulus 61-37

Bill just passed the Senate 61-37. Now it goes to conference committee where this is going to balloon even bigger.

Remember the good old days when the Democrats were complaining about Republicans being fiscally irresponsible?

Big spending GOP governors looking for DC cash

Republican governors lobbying Washington D.C. for the "stimulus" package should be taking the lead from House Republicans. Sadly, many of them are not, including Governor Palin.

The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, planned to meet in Washington this weekend with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other senators to press for her state's share of the package.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist worked the phones last week with members of his state's congressional delegation, including House Republicans. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, the Republican vice chairman of the National Governors Association, planned to be in Washington on Monday to urge the Senate to approve the plan.

"As the executive of a state experiencing budget challenges, Gov. Douglas has a different perspective on the situation than congressional Republicans," said Douglas' deputy chief of staff, Dennise Casey.

Fortunately there are a few that aren't ready to take a blow torch to a pile of cash. Jindal and Pawlenty said they would take the money but objected to the size of the bill, while Haley Barbour and Mark Sanford are not even sure if their states are going to accept any of the money.