Markell Rolls Out List Of Stimulus Spending Priorities
Please note that these jobs are not real jobs and the money is not real money and the stimulus is not stimulus because it does not involve granting tax breaks to wealthy Republicans.
Press Release after the jump.
NEWARK – Gov. Jack Markell unveiled a list of road, transit and pedestrian projects Monday that will be the state’s priorities to receive funding under a federal economic stimulus package.
The projects, totaling $200 million, were selected for their ability to meet federal requirements that the work begin within three to six months, the number of jobs the work will generate and the projects’ economic development potential.
“These projects will create hundreds of jobs and will help our economy – and our neighbors — get moving again,” Markell said during a news conference at the I-95 Toll Plaza, which is targeted to receive $48 million to add high-speed EZ-Pass lanes. “These projects are will improve our transportation system, put Delawareans to work and make Delaware more attractive for economic development in the future.”
Based on economic analysis, the projects are expected to create 1,200 jobs.
“One of the best ways for Delaware to overcome the historic economic challenge we face is to get more people working, and that is exactly what we are going to do,” said Secretary of Labor John McMahon. “We are going to make sure this money pays for projects that will stimulate the economy.”
The projects range from big-ticket items, such as the additional E-ZPass lanes at the I-95 toll plaza and $70 million worth of paving and rehabilitation work, to smaller projects such as traffic-signal and guardrail replacement. Funding is being targeted not just for traditional road projects, but also for transit projects such as a new Dover Transit Center, park-and-ride facilities in Odessa and Rehoboth Beach and a new DART maintenance facility.
The project list also includes money for improvements to Market Street near the Wilmington Riverfront and funding to refurbish the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.
“These two projects are crucial to our economic infrastructure,” said Alan Levin, director of the Delaware Economic Development Office. “They are going to add to the economic potential of Wilmington and the nation’s ‘Summer Capital.’ These projects will stimulate our economy for years to come.”
The list of projects was announced Monday to allow enough time for the projects to be reviewed by local Metropolitan Planning Organizations and to begin work on obtaining the necessary permits. If Delaware does not begin preliminary work now, the projects may not be far enough along in the approval process when the stimulus bill passes and funding could be lost.
Monday’s list is not final and could change depending upon provisions in the final bill that President Obama signs.
“The timeframes proposed to deliver projects presented several challenges and greatly limited the number and types of projects targeted,” said Secretary of Transportation Carolann Wicks. “The DelDOT team has worked extremely hard to vet all possible road, transit, pedestrian and bridge projects that could be done in the 180-day time period, but the bottom line for us is that we will end up with a package of projects that benefit the entire state.”
Tags: Markell, Stimulus Plan 2009
After reading in this blog and others by several blogers who like to quote Henry Morganthau an aid to FDR, that FDR’s plan was a failure.” Because after eight years we still had Just as much unemployment as when we started”. . FDR came into office in March of 1933 unemployment was at 24.9% and rising.8years later the rate was 14.6% and for some crazy reason back then 3.39 million of emergency relief workers were stilled being counted as unemployed. Since 1950 these workers are now counted as employed so using today’s standers the unemployment rate in 1940 should have been 9.5% down from the 24.9% when FDR took office. A drop of 15.4% points. Looks more like success to me than a failure. Figures obtained from US Library of Congress
There is a crazy wingnut PR campaign promoting the idiotic BS that “FDR made the depression worse.”
It goes to show you that some people are so gullible that they will fall for anything.
Amity Shlaes has made a fortune talking about how FDR’s New Deal failed.
Can you imagien the outcome of WWII if modern Republicans were in charge?
It give me chills to think of how the stupidity would have been applied.
If modern Republicans were in charge of World War 2, it would have cost twice as much because modern Republicans don’t prosecute contractor fraud, nor do they care to investigate when 12 billion dollars just goes missing with no records kept. They also probably would have dropped an extra five nukes.
Jason up until Pearl Harbor they fought FDR on lend lease and other things. Why do u think America First, Prescott Bush,Lindberg and most of the Repuk party in congress where in favor or at least admired Hitler
Amity Shlaes lost her gig at the Financial Times because she was utterly clueless.
But to these projects — not very sexy, are they. But that I think is the influence of “shovel-ready”, I think.
After WWII, I doubt Republicans would have done the Marshall Plan either.
Ya know, we are always caught flat-footed by the GOP and/or Wingnut Talking Points Machine. It’s unbelievable that this FDR New Deal History Rewrite is out there with some degree of traction. Whether it’s Liberal Activist Judges or Demorcrats=Neville Chamberlain Appeasement or Iraq has WMD or Bill+Blow Job=Impeachment, they keep marching on. We don’t seem as effective going for the jugular and taking the PR offensive.
CC you are so right these are the guys walking around waving the flag and saying they are more American than the rest of us. All a person has to do is look at their history. their opposing of FDR on lend least . their objection to Clinton on his tax package no repuk votes yet Clinton balanced the budget and left Bush with a surplus ( i challenge any repuk to produce one of their presidents who have done that.Also lets not forget that these so call great American,s exposed a CIA during war time.
Yes Cassandra it took me about 5 minutes to gleen the facts in my first post. The thing that bothers me is that the Dem’s have been silent on this subject. However today i was thrilled to see OUR PRESIDENT OBAMA mention it.
We don’t seem as effective going for the jugular and taking the PR offensive.
This is so true. I think that the problem is this:
1. Dems like to think that what they say, in comparison with what wingnuts have to say is self-evidently reasonable
2. Which puts these Dems in the position of always being rolled by the media “he say she say” reporting model. You could have a Dem and a repub on most any news program (there are a few exceptions) — the repub will reasonably expound on how FDR was a secret Nazi and the reporter won’t say a word — he’ll just ask the Dem for his side of the story. Not everything has a side — plenty of it has a right and a wrong and you’d think that there would be some interest in getting to that
3. The behavior of just being able to say anything to the media without being challenged on it? Totally does not apply to Dems.
4. The current news system (especially at the national level) is completely tuned to repubs, their talking points and their POVs. And you can hear it just about everywhere — even on my beloved BBC, you can hear a reporter repeat exact repub frames
5. Dems are lazy. Apparently you can get your choice of repub voices ready to speak to the media for almost any topic. Dems aren’t as available and really don’t want to deal the the media. They’d rather not do the performance art.
Watching Obama tonite, I am afraind that he is the only one who will do the heavy lifting against the Talking Points….
I was given a handout from a financial advisor that was published by The Hartford abput the Politics of Investing That shows average Investment growth during Republican administrations since Ike at 10.7% and for Democratic Administarations at 12.8% based on ther S&P 500
IKE 14.9% JFK 12.4% LBJ 10.1% Nixon -1.6% Ford 18.2% Carter 11.4% Reagan 14.0% GHW Busch 15.6% Clinton 17.1% GWB 3.2%
SO the Myth of equity Investments doing better with Republicans in charge is just that a myth
But Amity Shlaes is such a hot little name. Just as cute as a button, perky and quirky, all in one. She’s got to be smart, right?
Maybe there is some truth to those talking points. Just saying.
Also, if this stimulus bill is such a great thing, why does the Pres. need to sell it?
Weak.
Somebody has to counter the disinformation — certainly the Rs aren’t speaking from either good faith OR information and the media doesn’t seem to know enough macroeconomics to ask better questions.