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Today's Poll!Four Missouri senators offer deal on unemployment benefits
Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, was one of several senators who alled the conference Wednesday to discuss legislation that would extend unemployment benefits in Missouri. In the background, from left, are Senators Rob Schaaf and Robert Mayer. Photo by Julie Smith.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
They still think the federal government shouldn’t spend money it doesn’t have.
But four conservative Republican Missouri senators — who’ve been talking against accepting $105 million in federal stimulus money to extend an unemployment benefits program — said Wednesday they’d be willing to stop blocking that proposal.
But only if Gov. Jay Nixon, “out of the $570 million reappropriation of stimulus funds ... takes that down by $300 million,” Sen. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, said. “(It) has just a plethora of different pork barrel and pet projects and really some of the most egregious things when you look at it, as far as what this money is being spent on.”
The four lawmakers told a news conference they contacted Nixon’s office Monday when they returned to the Capitol from the weekend.
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Comments
BigRedOne 2 years, 2 months ago
Well I guess one can not argue the good intentions of rejecting stimulus funds, yes our FEDERAL government has gotten carried away with spending. Rejecting these funds, however, probably will not send the intended message. These funds will be re-appropriated to other states and will be spent anyway. We should just keep the money in Missouri. I am not sure that some of the funded projects are really the pork projects these senators are claiming.
JCLifer 2 years, 2 months ago
We elected these clowns to take care of Missouri business, not federal business. We already have elected people working on the federal issues. These clowns in the Missouri legislature are not representing Missouri or standing up for Missouri's best interest.
nychillbilly 2 years, 2 months ago
Shaff~ "outrageous to ask one citizen to work and take that citizens tax money and give it to somebody else who could work but isn't working for two years. That's totally outrageous." - a very unbelievable statement but a very stupid person. I guess people choose to lose their house, feed their kids on even nights only and decide which is more important electricity or telephone for the measly amount of unemployment money over working. - this Senator should be voted out of office next term.
nychillbilly 2 years, 2 months ago
You seem to not realize that unemployment is not handout, it's something that we've all paid into while we worked.
JCLifer 2 years, 2 months ago
Support corporate welfare, give bailouts to rich bankers and automakers, federal contracts with Haliburton, etc.
asb 2 years, 2 months ago
Technically nobody has actually introduced legislation to get rid of social programs, but in some form whatsoever it is being done. In Mr. Paul's privatization of huge chunks of health care lies a very real attack on our future and the government's ability to protect people from insurance company excesses. The Right has been poking around this for decades and are using the idiocy of the Tea Party to make the slightly less radical stripping of needed social programs being promoted by Republicans seem logical . . . all while lowering taxes for the wealthy and painting the needy as the source of our financial problems. This garbage has to start smelling bad real soon.
asb 2 years, 2 months ago
Experience-based fear actually. American government, at every level, is doing just fine, even with the fiscal straits we're dealing with. I actually said no bills or laws, but you need to listen harder if you don't hear the calls for stripping, not removing, social program funding. The left and right are both in the management business and doing fine, in spite of your bowling.
justaword 2 years, 2 months ago
FDR, President Roosevelt, coined the term “lunatic fringe.” It should surprise you “historians” he was referencing the radical left of the day. Today, it well applies to the radical right, to those who only know history according to Fox, Beck, or Birch.
FDR didn’t govern according to Marx, but Hamilton. Our Founding Fathers would have never sat around watching Fox, except for a laugh. They would have enjoyed those goofy characters in tri-cornered hats at a T-pee rally too.
Hamilton believed in a strong government to the extent of overriding state law. Jefferson believed in taxing only the rich. He also believed in cutting up the Bible to his own liking. Don’t believe me? Just google “Jefferson bible.”
So if we are truly historic, national and state government would not provide welfare to the corporations, but tax them for the common good. Our state government would not bow-down to the Gang of Four radical Republicans, who would hold Missouri's unemployed hostage.
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