More Stimulus

To treat Washington's spending addiction, the November's election's are the Republicans best chance to stage an intervention. But until then, President Obama and the Democratic congress are determined to keep pushing strung-out state governments to take one more fix.  Witness yesterdays 247-161 largely party-line House vote to approve a Senate bill shoveling another $26.1 billion out to state education and Medicaid programs.

Maintaining the salaries and generous benefit plans for members of the teachers unions is indeed a top Democratic priority.  That's why $10 billion of the bill's funding is allocated to education, and the money comes with strings that will multiply the benefits for this core Obama constituency.

Specifically, the bill stipulates that Federal funds must supplement , not replace, state spending on education. Also, in each state, next year's spending on elementary and secondary education as a percentage of total state revenues must be equal to or greater than the previous year's level.

Governor Haley Barber did the math and figured the state would be worse off.  The $98 million of the needed additional funds would have to be taken from public safety, human services, mental health and other state priorities and given to education. "There is no justification for the federal government hijacking state budgets, but that's exactly what congress has done.

Texas Governor Rick Perry is also apposed to this new "assistance" from the federal government.  He understands that one-time payments that force permanently higher state obligations are a windfall for government employees.  But if given the choice, taxpayers would just say no.

The other reason is that 1% to 1.5% of the teachers salary is taken out for dues, so, the teachers union will reap nearly $100 million extra dollars from this new stimulus. Much of these dues will flow immediately to endangered democratic candidates in competitive House and Senate races this year.

So, in the name of still another "Stimulus" Democrats are rewarding their own political funders, putting the most fiscally responsible states into even greater distress, and postponing the day of reckoning for spendthrift states.

The only way for voters to stop such fiscal abuse is to run this crowd out of town!