Lets examine just a few instances of waste in the Federal Budget. The department of Housing & Development (HUD's) Urban Development action Grant Program, (UDAG) UDAG is an excellent example of pork barrel fat which should not just be cut but suctioned out.
Please note, this program is a grant not a loan UDAG cost we taxpayers $225 Million a year. This administration wants this plan abolished.
However, the big spenders who control the purse strings in congress have steadfastly refused. They cry that it is needed to stimulate local investment and new jobs.
What they really mean is it may dies-stimulate their chances for re-election. Examine with me just a few of the grant that have been awarded in the past few years. These are typical examples of your tax dollars at work through the UDAG. You be the Judge!
One year alone $1.7 Million went to Corning Glass, the makers of expensive Corning Wear. $1.5 Million of the grant was for the upgrade of Corning's melting furnaces, I could not discover why the other $.2 million was granted.
$23.9 million was granted to Detroit. Now Detroit is a depressed area, and I know those funds could been used to create jobs for the needy. However, that's not what the grant was earmarked for... $1.5 million was earmarked for the purpose of clearing a site for a new Chrysler plant.
Now that year Chrysler earned $21.2 billion, yet they couldn't clear their own building site? $8.9 million was earmarked to help renovate Detroit's Book Cadillac Hotel. When it was finished it had 471 luxury rooms, class A office space and a 600 space parking facility.
I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that the poor of Detroit will get much from that grant except a few minimum wage jobs.
$10 million went to a Philadelphia Real Estate Developer to build Festival Mall, with Gourmet shops, Boutiques, a 1st class restaurant and a theater.
$10.6 million in funds went to New Haven Connecticut , one of the richest cities in our country. The grant was for 530 housing units, retail space and parking facilities. While we all know low cost housing is needed disparity all over our country.
Officials in New Haven admitted only about 20% of those new or refurbished units were available to low or moderate income residents. And you thought Hud was supposed to help the low and moderate income citizens!
This list of Hud's giveaways goes on and on and our lawmakers have the audacity to tell us, "If Uncle Sam didn't disperse the money, these projects would never been built."
To that statement I say hogwash!
