Right off the bat, it is worth reminding readers that only 9% of the so-called COVID relief package heading to the president’s desk today is directed at COVID relief. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer admitted as much on Wednesday when he hailed the $1.9 trillion pork fest as a “turning point” that transforms U.S. politics. In other words, the package is part of the Democrats’ grand scheme to seize permanent control of all three branches of the federal government.
As to what’s in the package, here is a summary of some of the more wasteful features. For starters, some $128 billion will be directed to K-12 schooling “for preparation for, prevention of, and response to the coronavirus pandemic or for other uses allowed by other federal education programs.” This amount is part of a larger $170 billion supplement to education-related spending. On its face, the initiative doesn’t sound so bad till you consider that private schools have largely reopened, as have public schools in some states. Even worse is the reality that those funds won’t be available in the current fiscal year or even the year after. Finally, previous COVID relief and congressional spending bills have already included more than $100 billion in funding for schools that, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), remains to be spent.
Another $350 billion is earmarked for bolstering state budgets, which were initially projected to be down as much as 8% overall this year. But if Democrats had bothered to check the actual figures, they would have discovered that revenues were down just 1.6% for 2020 fiscal, and 18 states ended the year with above-projection revenue.
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Next consider this line: “Of the funds appropriated under title III of the Act that are made available for assistance for Pakistan, not less than $15,000,000 shall be made available for democracy programs and not less than $10,000,000 shall be made available for gender programs.” Gender programs in Pakistan: What will they think of next. Other countries to benefit from the Democrats’ largess at a time when most Americans are hurting include Cambodia ($86 million), Nepal ($130 million), Burma ($135 million), Ukraine ($453 million) and Sudan ($700 million).
Some other useful expenditures include:
- Money for “Resource Study of Springfield (Illinois) Race Riot.” (That riot, in case you were wondering, took place in 1908.)
- “Statement Of Policy Regarding The Succession Or Reincarnation Of The Dalai Lama.” (Feel free to insert your own reaction.)
- $40 million “for the necessary expenses for the operation, maintenance and security” of The Kennedy Center. The center received $25 million in another COVID-19 relief bill earlier this year, all of which is a moot point since the Kennedy Center has been closed.
- $1 billion for the Smithsonian in part to cover the cost of creating a Women’s History Museum and an American Latino Museum.
Finally sink your teeth into this gem. Money will be set aside to fund a commission tasked with educating “consumers about the dangers associated with using or storing portable fuel containers for flammable liquids near an open flame.”
