Road to Nowhere...

 $88 million of "big bad federal government" money to build a section of the "Heartland Express" in western Nebraska.  That's lot of Tea for the Tea Partiers.  But don't expect any howls of protest around here.  The kind of federal money we don't like being spent is that spent on other people, not ourselves.  The key is to not really call it "spending" at all (like we do with nasty things like social programs, education, the environment, etc.), but rather economically-responsible euphemisms like "investment" or "economic development."  Pork-barrel spending or government waste, on the other hand, is usually what's spent on the other guy.  'Go figure...

Biking on Uncle Sam's dime...

I love biking, and multi-use trails are one of the better community enhancements.  So the gripe certainly isn't about the paths/trails, but once again the hypocrisy of mindlessly repeating talking points about "small government" and "reducing spending" but then holding out your hand for a $1 million grant ("Federal Transportation Enhancement Program") when the beneficiary is you and your's, rather than someone else... (story from Scottsbluff Star-Herald here)

Banner County Bank receives treasury money ($2.4 Million)

The Scottsbluff Star-Herald recently reported that the Banner County Bank (Banner County Nebraska has a total population of 690) received $2.4 million loan through the U.S. Department of the Treasury Small Business Lending Fund "to free up money to help small businesses expand." The story continues:

The Department of the Treasury said in a press release that the SBLF is for small businesses, which employ roughly one-half of all Americans and account for about 60 percent of gross job creation. But small business owners, the press release said, face disproportionate challenges in the aftermath of the recession and credit crisis, including difficulty-accessing capital.


[Bank President Roger Wynne] said the SBLF is essentially an incentive program to encourage banks to loan more money to small businesses. Which is what he plans to do with the money.


“This loan allows us to better service our area and expand that area,” Wynne said. “It helps to serve a broader area to increase economic development.”

Rugged individualism has always been a lot easier with some federal government assistance.  And it's always important to use the right language.  Government money that goes to the poor and working poor in the US should always be referred to as "aid" or "assistance" or "welfare."  But that some government money given to middle or upper-class Americans, businesses, corporations, etc. should ALWAYS be referred to as "economic development" or an "investment."