Pork and Mess in the Bailout Bill

I’ve just been through a good portion of the bailout. What was once 3 pages has swelled to 451 and that is before the House gets to it. New pork and changes could be added then. The actual text of what is set up and established to deal with the mortgage mess begins on page 3. Everything associated with the “bailout”, including regulations, oversight, lots of specific stuff is finished by page 113. A big bill, no doubt. But manageable on it’s own. The other 300 plus pages of this bill are total garbage that has been tacked on. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are good things that we should definitely do, but they should be proposed and voted on as separate bills. The bill writing and amending process has become absolutely ridiculous. We need to be pushing for a huge CONGRESSIONAL REFORM that limits what is included in a bill.

This is atrocious! Call you congressman and complain about that! Go to the websites of the presidential candidates and tell them to push for legislation reform!

If you think I’m wrong, then please read through what is included in this bill. Yes I went through it one section at a time and noted each one for the most part. Some of them were grouped into sections as I got tired, but you get the idea. I’ve put my favorites in BOLD print. Some that were so obscure I couldn’t translate were left in CAPS and are quoted. My comments and section numbers are in parenthesis.

- Tax credits, tax incentives, and bond measures for renewable energy. (Several sections in the 100s)
- Tax credits for steel industry fuel (seems to pertain particularly to coal). (Sec. 108)
- “SPECIAL RULE TO IMPLEMENT FERC AND STATE ELECTRIC RESTRUCTURING POLICY” (whatever that means) (Sec. 109)
- Multiple provisions to modify (from the number it’s a drastic increase) and expand coal projects and credits (Sec. 111)
- Increase in coal taxes to fund a black lung trust fund. (Sec. 113)
- “Special Rules” (I hate that language) to refund coal excise taxes for certain producers and exporters. (Sec. 114)
- Tax credit for “Carbon Dioxide Sequestration” (does this mean I can get a tax credit for planting those trees in the backyard that my wife has been begging me for?) (Sec. 115)
- “CERTAIN INCOME AND GAINS RELATING TO INDUSTRIAL SOURCE CARBON DIOXIDE TREATED AS QUALIFYING INCOME FOR PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIPS.” (anybody’s guess on the real point of this one) (Sec. 116)
- Investigating the magnitude of the effect of the tax code on carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. (no, I’m serious) (Sec. 117)
- “INCLUSION OF CELLULOSIC BIOFUEL IN BONUS DEPRECIATION FOR BIOMASS ETHANOL PLANT PROPERTY” (I’m guessing this means that people who produce ethanol from other plant matter, like the corn husks can benefit from the same pork that the people using the kernel get) (Sec. 201)
- Tax credits for biodiesel (Sec. 202)
- A clarifier that fuel incentives are designed to increase domestic production. (I guess they couldn’t even figure out WHY they were doing all of this!) (Sec. 203)
- Extension and modification of alternative fuel credit. (Sec. 204)
- Credit extensions for new qualified electric, plug-in vehicles. (Sec. 205)
- “EXCLUSION FROM HEAVY TRUCK TAX FOR IDLING REDUCTION UNITS AND ADVANCED INSULATION.” (Sec. 206)
- Alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit (I guess that’s good news if you want to open up a 7/11 that dispenses hydrogen) (Sec. 207)
- CERTAIN INCOME AND GAINS RELATING TO ALCOHOL FUELS AND MIXTURES, BIODIESEL FUELS AND MIXTURES, AND ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND MIXTURES TREATED AS QUALIFYING INCOME FOR PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIPS. (Sec. 208)
- EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF ELECTION TO EXPENSE CERTAIN REFINERIES. (Sec. 209)
- EXTENSION OF SUSPENSION OF TAXABLE INCOME LIMIT ON PERCENTAGE DEPLETION FOR OIL AND NATURAL GAS PRODUCED FROM MARGINAL PROPERTIES.(Sec. 210)
- “Fringe benefits” to bicycle commuters (you can’t make this stuff up). (Sec. 211)
- Energy conservation bonds (Sec. 301)
- Tax credit for “Nonbusiness energy property” (Sec. 302)
- Tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings. (Sec. 303)
- Energy efficient home credits. (Sec. 304)
- Energy efficient home appliance credits (Sec. 305)
- “ACCELERATED RECOVERY PERIOD FOR DEPRECIATION OF SMART METERS AND SMART GRID SYSTEMS.” (my smart reader is telling me this whole thing is a pile of POOP!) (Sec. 306)
- Defining sustainable design projects and green buildings. (Sec. 307)
- “Special” depreciation allowance on certain properties used for reuse and recycling. (Sec. 308)
- “LIMITATION OF DEDUCTION FOR INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF OIL, GAS, OR PRIMARY PRODUCTS THEREOF.” (Do we want to be limiting deductions on DOMESTIC production? How does this help our dependency on foreign oil?) (Sec. 401)
- “ELIMINATION OF THE DIFFERENT TREATMENT OF FOREIGN OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION INCOME AND FOREIGN OIL RELATED INCOME FOR PURPOSES OF THE FOREIGN TAX CREDIT” (Oh, okay maybe this helps… or not)(Sec. 402)
- “PERCENT FUTA SURTAX.”(I have no idea what a FUTA surtax is)(Sec. 404.0.2 – no I’m not kidding)
- “INCREASE AND EXTENSION OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND TAX.” (Sec. 405)
- Div. C contains all kinds of individual tax relief, extensions, extensions for business and restaurants. It includes increases in the “cover over” (whatever that means) of the rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Economic development tax credits for American Samoa. Mine rescue team tax training credit. Different bond measures. Several pork bones to Indian tribes. Railroad maintenance. Katrina tax breaks. Change of tax law for motorsports race tracks (Sec. 317 of Div. C). Tax breaks for investing in Washington DC (Sec. 322 of Div. C). Tax extensions and modifications on wool (Sec. 325 of Div. C)
- Tax breaks for film and television industry. (Sec. 502)
- Some obscure tax exemption for wooden arrows designed for use by children (seriously) (Sec. 503)
- Pages of tax law changes for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)
- Tax law changes for claiming farming equipment as property. (Sec. 505)
- Tax law change on penalties for the taxpayer on understatement of liability of tax payer by tax preparer (my head is spinning) (Sec. 506)

Oh, by the way this was all tacked onto a $3.5 billion measure intended to force health-insurance companies to cover mental illness as they do physical sickness, that included it’s own pork about rural schools, federal land, and national disaster relief.

WHAT A MESS!!!

Change... really?

One of Senator Obama's biggest campaign promises and favorite lines on the trail is that he is going to "cut wasteful spending." Really?

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste a nonprofit, nonpartisan group just finished their analysis of the 2007 congressional record concerning earmarks, otherwise known as pork barrels, or "wasteful spending". Governor Palin isn't on the list because she is not a member of congress and so doesn't appropriate federal funds. McCain, Obama, and Biden are on the list.

In all fairness Senator McCain has also pledged to "cut wasteful spending," he has even gone so far as to pledge that he will veto any bill that has pork in it. Pretty bold pledge.

So, based on past history which is our only possible means of predicting future performance, who will keep their word?

Let see how they ranked.

The CCAGW broke it down by 2007 and then to be fair, they included a life time rating.

Obama - for 2007 - 10% Meaning that 90% of the time he voted for pork.
Biden - for 2007 - 0% Meaning that he voted for pork 100% of the time.
McCain - for 2007 - 100% You get the idea, he NEVER voted for pork in 2007.

Now for pretty much all of 2007, all of these candidates were running for president. So lifetime averages...

Obama - 18%
Biden - 22% (evidently 2007 was a very porky year for him)
McCain - 88%

So what do you think? Who really will "cut wasteful spending"?

H/T: MM

Farm Bill

If I give my honest opinion, there really shouldn't BE anything called a farm bill. I'm not sure why welfare subsidies for food stamps and the like are in here. They should be in a separate piece of legislation, but... not to miss my point here.

This is how the voting went and quite frankly I am shocked. Every one of these Senators should be thrown out on their cans for voting for it. All presidential candidates were absent, although this would have been a great time for McCain to take a stand on wasteful and ridiculous government subsidies. Kyl voted against it (thank you, Senator). How did your Senators do?

In any case, let's just see what the Congressional Budget Office says that this will cost us : $307 BILLION. Ouch.

I have not had time to trudge through (and I doubt I will have the time) the hundreds of pages. According to a Fox News article, the bill contains the following:
- $40 BILLION in additional farm subsidies when crop prices are through the roof
- $30 BILLION to farmers to IDLE their land and other environmental programs.

Can you seriously tell me that when food prices are going up at ridiculous rates, the government is going to PAY farmers NOT to produce?!! You're kidding me! Price is up... so increase the supply and watch the prices come down... unless of course you are banking on a big contribution to your campaign from farm corporations. Nice.

It also contains the following:

—Boost nutrition programs, including food stamps and emergency domestic
food aid, by more than $10 billion over 10 years. It would expand a program to
provide fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren.
—Increase subsidies for certain crops, including fruits and vegetables excluded from previous farm bills.
—Extend and expand dairy programs.

—Increase loan rates for sugar producers.
—Urge the government to buy surplus sugar and sell it to ethanol producers for use in a mixture with corn.
—Cut a per-gallon ethanol tax credit for refiners from 51 cents to 45 cents. The credit supports the blending of fuel with the corn-based additive. More money would go to cellulosic ethanol, made from plant matter.
—Require that meats and other fresh foods carry labels with their country of origin.
—Stop allowing farmers to collect subsidies for multiple farm businesses.
—Reopen a major discrimination case against the Agriculture Department. Thousands of black farmers who missed a deadline would get a chance to file claims alleging they were denied loans or other subsidies.
—Pay farmers for weather-related farm losses from a new $3.8 billion disaster relief fund.
—Provide the first-ever infusion of federal farm dollars — more than $400 million — to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

Update: NRO has a great editorial on this bill