As the Obama administration tests the waters for a second massive government stimulus, critics are questioning the effectiveness of the first $787 billion program, which they say is moving at a turtle's pace and includes some absurd and wasteful pork projects.The president's economic advisors said that the administration did not anticipate the severity of the recession and that it might now be necessary for the government to pump more money into the economy to prevent further job losses.
But critics say that the $787 billion stimulus isn't being spent fast enough and some of the projects approved are frivolous and do nothing to stimulate the economy. Before we dig the country further into debt, they argue, we should wait and see how the first stimulus plan works.
"I don't think we need to have another stimulus bill. I think we need to change this one so that we spend the money right now," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has been critical of the plan.
Then there are the questionable projects.
For instance, the Florida Department of Transportation wants to spend $3.4 million in stimulus money for a turtle tunnel. That's right, $3.4 million to help turtles cross under a highway. Each year, 1,035 turtles are killed on a half-mile stretch of highway north of Tallahassee, according to The Lake Jackson Ecopassage Alliance, a group advocating for the tunnel. They are hoping to use the stimulus dough to save the turtles.
Across the country in Montana, a border crossing that averages fewer than two passenger cars a day and two to three trucks a month is slated to get $15 million in stimulus funds for upgrades. - ABC News Story
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Senator Coburn and the GOP have misrepresented the so-called turtle tunnels from the get go. Coburn originally portrayed this project as a 13 foot tunnel. Well, it turns out that the tunnel is 152 feet long. The project actually calls for three tunnels. And 2 miles of barrier wall on each side of a 4-lane divided highway. This highway was built by the feds through the middle of a lake - not any lake but Florida's only aquatic preserve. The Lake Jackson Ecopassage accomplishes three very important goals: (1) it protects motorists from thousands of animals moving back and forth over the highway (including 40 pound turtles and 8 foot long alligators); (2) it protects wildlife and rights the wrong that was committed many decades ago when this highway was put through a protected wetlands; and (3) it will create the equivalent of 200 construction-related jobs for a year. This is a great project and it is frustrating to hear the GOP touting this as a boondoggle.
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