The WaPost's reliable lefty (no, I really mean it. Very left.)
Harold Meyerson has a column this morning in which he howls at the slow pace of spending of the 2009 "stimulus", pointing to a recent story that showed only a quarter of the money Los Angeles received had actually been spent. What had been spent represented a good bit of the payoff to Democratic constituencies that much of the stimulus actually consisted of, you know, those things that kept "gubment" workers in jobs created during flush times that SHOULD have been cut in lean times. What remained to be spent? "Shovel ready" project money--you know, the kinds of things folks on the right said were not stimulative at all because of how long they took to start and complete. Meyerson grants this, citing "good government" restrictions as contributing to the pace (economic and environmental impact studies, fair wage restrictions, you name it--a cornucopia of liberal nannying). The problem here is that folks on the right KNEW THIS, and folks on the left should have known it also. Of course we cannot mobilize labor and make things happen like we did in the the 30's. The lawsuits questioning the destruction of yellow-breasted gob-warbler mating grounds, or the demanding a "living" wage for the (union) workers on the site (which would of course NOT be the prevailing market wage) would be enormous. No, shovel ready ain't what it used to be, which is one of the reasons the stimulus was a bad deal from the start.
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A related sentiment from Edward Glaeser:
"The future shape of America is being driven not by quality of life or economic success but by the obscure rules regulating local land use. In a sense, the anti-regulation crowd is right that the laissez-faire attitude of the South and West explains their recent growth. But the usual argument focuses on the wrong regulations. Housing regulations, more than those that bind standard businesses, explain the Sun Belt’s population growth. If New York and Massachusetts want to stop losing Congressional seats, then they must revisit the rules that make it so difficult to build."
They'll get around to spending it next election cycle. The "Make Work Pay" scheme should address some of these issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxeB6NAmvOQ
I encourage everyone to cheat on their taxes this year so perhaps we producers can qualify for some of these programs. Cheating has duel benefits in that your tax burden is reduced and your qualification status for gov't largess is enhanced. A win win! If caught, use the "who me?!" defense. Hey, if it worked for Charlie Rangel and Tim Geitner, it should work for us.
Also, look into gov't grants. There's a lot of cash floating around out there for aspiring artists. And don't give me this crap about how you ain't an artist. Just do what you do. Remember the porn actress who got a grant and brought her toy act to the stage? Use her as inspiration and do what you know how to do and call it art. After all art is in the eye of the beholder.
Look, this is just one example and there are many ways to go on this thing. Maybe Cornwallis marched his army over CW's farm...can you say historical landmark grant?
The point is be creative. The money is just waiting for you. I personally am trying to come up with a grant request with a corn whiskey angle. If successful such an approach would allow me to bleed the gov't AND skirt the revenue laws. Brilliant! Wish me luck.
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