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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Chairman Scott On VP Biden’s Visit To Maryland


ANNAPOLIS – While Vice President Joe Biden stumps for Governor Martin O’Malley this evening, Maryland Republican Party Chairman Audrey Scott issued the following statement and questions for Martin O’Malley:

“It is rather fitting that Vice President Joe Biden, the Administration’s chiefspokesman for the failed Stimulus Bill, would come to Maryland to stump for another politician with a failed economic agenda. The Obama Administration and Governor O’Malley have been touting for months that the Stimulus Bill would produce jobs in Maryland that have never materialized. While the Vice President and O’Malley rub shoulders with donors and try to put a positive spin on their failure to produce jobs, Marylanders deserve answers on why their rhetoric does not match reality.”

Questions for Governor O’Malley

1.) Considering Maryland has lost jobs since the Stimulus was passed, would you classify your statement from February 2009 when you said that the Stimulus would create 66,000 jobs in Maryland as a ‘tactical’ error?

Gov, Martin O’Malley “Hailed” The Stimulus And Said It Would Create 66,000 Jobs In Maryland. “Gov. Martin O'Malley hailed yesterday the $3.3 billion in federal aid and other benefits Maryland could receive under a stimulus package that congressional leaders hope to pass within days. An estimated 66,000 jobs would be saved or created if the bill is enacted, and 242,0000 workers would get $100 more a month in unemployment benefits, O'Malley said. More than 2.2 million Maryland residents would get a tax cut of up to $800 or become eligible for a tax credit to make college more affordable, he said.” (Laura Smitherman, “O’Malley Hails Stimulus,” The Baltimore Sun, 2/13/09)

But The Stimulus Hasn't Helped Maryland Create Much Needed Jobs:

Maryland Has Lost 16,600 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Increased From 6.4 Percent To 7.2 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, BLS.gov, Accessed 7/16/10)

2.) Do you think wasting $500 per stimulus sign at a time when record numbers of Marylanders remain unemployed was a good investment of hard earned taxpayer dollars?

Stimulus Funds Paid For $500 Signs In Maryland To Advertise The Stimulus. ABC News' Jonathan Karl: "These signs are much pricier, 500 bucks a piece in Maryland and New Hampshire, $1,700 in Georgia, $2,000 per sign Pennsylvania and New York, and $3,000 per project in New Jersey." (ABC News' "Good Morning America," 7/10/09)

3.) According to Recovery.gov Maryland has been awarded $4,335,002,513 and has reported 13,821 ‘new jobs’ for a total $313,653.32 per job ‘saved or created.’ How do you justify such a high cost per job to the 52% of Marylanders who think the Stimulus hasn’t worked or to the 200,000 unemployed Marylanders?

· Maryland has been award $4,335,002513 in stimulus cash but has only ‘created or saved’ 13,821 jobs. (Recovery.gov Stimulus Reporting Site, Recovery.gov, Accessed 7/19/10)
· 28% in Maryland say the stimulus hurt the economy, and another 24% say it had no impact. (Rasmussen Poll 7/8/10, 500 Likely Voters, MOE +/- 4.5%)

4.) You used one time stimulus funds and multiple fund raids to give the appearance of a balanced budget. Do you care to revise statements made at the National Governors Association annual meeting where you denied dipping into other accounts or using one time budget gimmicks?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Gov't -- Federal and State -- has an amazing ability to p*ss money away. Look at what was spent on those stupid road signs. The only jobs I see being created are Gov't jobs, inflating the Gov't to an unfathomable size. It has to stop! Vote Republican -- please!