New Haven Independent

Posted by: Tim | February 18, 2009 12:13 PM

While I am agaisnt this "stimulus" package, any town/city or state getting any of this money should atleast spend it wisely, lets invest in something that is going to improve the city we live in long term not just allow someone to have a job for a couple of months working on something that doesnt even need to be done.

Posted by: robn | February 18, 2009 12:58 PM

It would be nice if HANH used this money to renovate or build housing with a path to ownership for occupants. Ownership is the key to upkeep.

Posted by: recentcloud | February 18, 2009 3:28 PM

tim, the money flowing to new haven from the obama administration's plan is evidently going to immediately put people to work, thus stimulating our economy. just as president obama said.

with that in mind, i don't understand the use of quotes around the word stimulus in your post.

i must be off my game today because i further don't understand your comment about 'a job for just a couple of months'.

here's my logic on that: i have never heard a roofing contractor say, 'no thanks, i don't want to fix your roof because once i'm done, in a few months, i will no longer have this job.'

i have never heard a plumber say: 'no thanks, because once i fix your toilet, i will no longer have this job.'

i've never heard an electrician say....well, i think you get my point.

Posted by: iwasthere | February 18, 2009 6:21 PM

It's just a smoke screen. This stimulus bill will take a minimum of 19 months to start to work its way to the state and cities budgets. The states blew the tobacco settlements. The states will do the same thing to this package. Where will this leave us. $35,000 per person to repay back to the gov't. Gov't is just better giving the money in the hand of the taxpayer then to the states and corporations. Any way the city is going to be $19 million in the whole rather the $25 it is in now.

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | February 18, 2009 6:31 PM

RECENTCLOUD

"here's my logic on that: i have never heard a roofing contractor say, 'no thanks, i don't want to fix your roof because once i'm done, in a few months, i will no longer have this job.'"

The problem with public housing is that you will indeed have plumbers, electricians, sheetrock mechanics and roofers come back every two months to the same housing unit to fix the same damages over and over again. You might as well flush that money down the toilet. When things are given to you, it has no value. The tenants love to destroy their apartments and surrounding property because they know someone else is paying for it.

Posted by: citizen | February 19, 2009 3:47 PM

Yeah sure! let's spend that money in plasma giant TV's for the community rooms (like the one at Winslow Celentano); Furniture that will get stolen or damaged; Expensive top of the line double pane windows (such as the ones under contract now) that will have to be replaced constantly; Trek decking that even most homeowner can't afford (like the one featuring in some complexes); or even better, money to keep paying the outrageous salaries of the 4 head executives (yes 4!) of the housing authority. Go check it out, this is all true, all mismanaged tax-payer money down the toilet (as Rencentcloud said), that the low-income residents can't even appreciate. Why can't this money ever end up at the hands of the hard working middle income families ....?

Posted by: Alphonse Credenza | February 20, 2009 2:20 PM

Your socialist government in action. Redistributing even more taxpayer money to even more government units.

Why didn't they just give us back our money? (You know why...)

Pirates!

Posted by: recentcloud | February 21, 2009 2:21 PM

the simple point i made, and will again make, is that the stimulis package will indeed stimulate the economy by creating jobs.

just ask the roofer, plumber, the restaurant owner who serves the newly employed folks lunch, the store owner who sells them clothes for their families purchased with money from the jobs created by the stimulus package.

the fact that some jobs may, in your opinion, be sisyphusian in nature is an issue of political and social complexities not blithely swept aside by your simplistic observation nor germaine to this discussion.

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | February 22, 2009 6:44 AM

RECENTCLOUD

If anyone is being simplistic here, it is you. Only liberals think that the government can solve your problems. Government does not create jobs. People do. Without incentives to go and invest money to create companies and therefore jobs, all you get in the end is a welfare state where money is printed and distributed with nothing to back it up. Do you think that $13 a week is going to make me go out and put a roof on my house? What happens after the "stimulus" (ie pork) money is spent? Why, I betcha we will have to borrow more! This was nothing more than a payoff of unions and trial lawyers for supporting Obama.

Please show me anywhere in the world at any time, that this tactic of burdening our grandchildren with crushing debt has worked. You can't because there isn't any example of this in modern history, only failure when tried. Do we not learn from history? No, because it is not taught in school anymore.

Posted by: recentcloud | February 22, 2009 6:10 PM

no amount of decreased tax incentives will cause businesses to hire if there is no work to be done by that employee.

however, if said business receives new business due to the economy being 'stimulated' by a cash infusion, then said business would hire employees as needed, thus putting people back to work, thus they have money to spend, thus, as i said above, other businesses will be 'stimulated' as well, and as their business increases they very well may bring back a few laid off employees, or hire new employees, to keep up with new business.

and, as for burdening our grandchildren, two points:

1) i suspect you weren't yelling very loud nor were you very concerned with your grandchildren when bush passed his two trillion dollar tax break for the wealthy and big business.

2) i suspect you as well weren't very vocal nor were you concerned about your grandchildren when bush mis-spent upwards of one trillion dollars on
a poorly executed war of choice in iraq.

if my observations above are inaccurate, and you were just as vocal, good for you for having at least a consistent ideology and i apologize for the error.

finally, there is plent of money in this stimulus package for new business creation, thus again, new jobs, and at least this trillion will be spent here in america, helping americans, and repairing american infrastructure, and not p*ssed away in iraq.

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | February 23, 2009 7:40 AM

RECENTCLOUD

No poor person ever gave me a job. I have no problem with rich people keeping their money. They invest it in areas that create sustainable jobs as well as discretionary ones like leaf blowing. So what if they buy a private jet? Who do you think builds and maintains them?

And as far as Bush and Iraq is concerned, we needed to kick ass somewhere in the middle east to stem the tide of fanatical muslims wanting to kill us. What better place than with Hussein who defied UN sanctions and was widely believed to have WMD? Creating an atmosphere for democracy in the middle east is not exactly a bad thing. Helps to tamp down extremism. Sort of ensures that there will be grandchildren around in the future to enjoy. BTW, how many times have we been victims of terror since 9/11? Contrast that to the amount of hits we received leading up to 9/11 through 8 years of Clinton inaction. What's it worth to you?

Posted by: recentcloud | February 24, 2009 9:03 PM

then to clarify: 2 trillion in tax cuts to the rich and big business and another trillion p*ssed away in iraq are no problem for your grandchildren.

but....but..a trillion spent here in america to help americans, now THATS a problem.

my observations about you seem accurate, after all.