Transparency In Stimulus Money Spending

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The Hill today is reporting on some of the ways in which the stimulus money was spent.  I am sure that some of the political connections involved are purely coincidental. 

$5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus went to Burson-Marsteller, a global public-relations and communications firm headed by Mark Penn.  It preserved three jobs.  Mark Penn was Hillary Rodham Clinton's pollster in the 2008 presidential election. 

The article points out:

"Burson-Marsteller won the contract to work on a public-relations campaign to advertise the national switch from analog to digital television. Nearly $2.8 million of the contract was issued to Penn's polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, according to federal records."Federal records also show that a former adviser to President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign received nearly $70,000 from that contract to help alert viewers in difficult-to-reach communities that their televisions would soon no longer receive broadcast signals."

Wow.  Other instances of questionable spending cited:

Two million dollars in stimulus money went to build a replica railroad as a tourist attraction in Carson City, Nev.

A dinner cruise company based in Chicago received nearly $1 million in funds to combat terrorism.

The State University of New York at Buffalo won $390,000 to study young adults who drink malt liquor and smoke marijuana. The National Institutes of Health got $219,000 in funds to study whether female college students are more likely to "hook up" after drinking alcohol.

The article lists more examples.  Please keep these examples in mind as the debate on spending the TARP money begins! 

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This page contains a single entry by Granny G published on December 9, 2009 5:47 AM.

Rewriting The Rules On The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was the previous entry in this blog.

Last Night In The Healthcare Bill is the next entry in this blog.

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