Tornado Alley (PROG)

[wbmw]

Then came the stimulus package, replete with earmarked goodies for every corporation big enough to hire a team of Washington lobbyists.

Maybe I shouldn't let facts get in the way of this tirade, but the stimulus package contained zero earmarks, and not a cent went to big corporations.

- 1/3 of the stimulus package were middle class tax cuts and tax incentives
- 1/3 of the stimulus package went to state aid, saving hundreds of thousands of state employee jobs
- And finally, 1/3 of it went towards funding new projects, new infrastructure, and new technology, in order to allow contractors and small businesses to hire workers and create jobs

The sad thing is that the Whitehouse has been highlighting these things to the consistency of a drum beat this past week (on the one year anniversary of the stimulus bill), but the media doesn't report it, and people still end up thinking of the stimulus as a pork filled bill (which it wasn't) going to special interests (which it didn't), and not saving any jobs (which it did).

The frustrating thing is when you peel back the punditry and actually look for yourself, you actually get to see it for what it is. But because everyone has a reason to spin it - including the media and "news" that people "trust" - the real benefit to people is never seen, and people only end up distrusting their government even more.

And I can't support editorials where people only try to further the misconception.