Buffalo Boy's Blog
Giving You More Than Just My Two Cents
Surprise, Surprise, Misused Funds
The US 1996 tobbaco settlement netted the US $61.5 billion between 2000 and 2006, gee guess who controlled both houses (senate and congress) and the presidency in that span?
They misused that money that went to the states. One of those expenditures was on a golf course in Niagara County. Other misuse of the funds included a museum in Alaska of all places. Imagine if all that money had gone where it was supposed to go. To say, I don't know, HEALTHCARE. It was supposed to go to healthcare programs, anti smoking programs and other health related programs but instead only 30% found its true purpose. The other 70% was squandered by a republican controlled Washington. Why does this kind of thing not surprise me. That is something that has gone relatively unnoticed but should have been a warning sign before we gave George W. and Hank Paulson $700 billion to play with at their discretion. Another question is this, instead of settling with tobacco companies why are we not just putting them out of business. Why are we still legalizing smoking/chewing tobacco in this country or anywhere. Its already to the point where pretty much the only place you can smoke legally is in your own home or backyard and thats if you don't have kids, which lets face it, if you smoke around your kids in an enclosed setting you should pretty much go to jail in my book. This country is so backwards. We sue big tobacco for billions, then we don't use it for healthcare and the use it was intended for. We ban it everywhere but we don't make it totally illegal. We tax the living shit out of it yet its still legal. That $61.5 billion could have gone a long way towards paying medicaid and even setting up universal healthcare, instead, our politicians use every excuse to misuse it on bullshit. And the republicans wonder why they were voted out. Im not saying that its not a bipartisan problem but lets face it, 2000-2006, they were in control of everything. Just think of the savings this country would experience if we banned smoking altogether. Just ended all sales of ciggarettes and made them totally illegal. The cancer rates in this country would plummet.
I think where we need to start with any funding changes, handouts, etc is in Washington. Cut all politicians salaries by 60%. ALL OF THEM. President down. They then need to move to the state level, county, city, town. Salaries and term limits should be capped. Watch the whole system change then. People actually participating in politics. Not because they are in it for the money or getting a position that will best suit their own personal agenda. Want to see a ton of money get fused into the economy? Polaticians were not supposed to be able to claim their position as a full time job.
With respect to the tobacco settlement I think the story you are referring to:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hdOEOgi0q-Je1_-OrHVz3zkOt6oQD94IRQ8O2
Its not really news. First of all they are an activist group. The golf course in Niagara county was a known misuse of the funds. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton secured them for use (holy shit did she do something good for us...a golf course), Local govt put them to use. I don't think it is the fed. Govts fault it is more at the state level where accountability is minimal and use of these funds is appropriated. This is what you get when you have a bunch of demowhacks controlling your region and the money flow. I do think the article is a prime piece of drive-by art. They touch on every heart string they even mention the children. How cute. The funny thing about all this is they are laying the way to protect our new Dictator. With all the bail outs it is going to be his responsibility to watch the money. The drive bys know what is coming. They are as I said preparing so when it happens they can pull this out and all the commies can tie their undies into a knot and say "The Bush admin did much worse..cry cry cry, drool drool drool, we did it for the good of those in need. And our own pocket book.
You know what, I never said that one party or the other was innocent, they all are to blame for wasting that money, and no its not news. What is news though is the shear magnitude of the problem.
I knew about the golf course, what none of us knew was that 70% was used for something unrelated to its purpose.