Rafael Jimenez probably isn't the kind of guy you want to give your money to. After all, court records present him as a violent criminal who beats up women, a thief, a dealer in dope and weapons, and a fellow who has also been found guilty of making "terroristic" threats, harassment, disorderly conduct and parole violations.But though you wouldn't give "Big Bird" Jimenez money directly, your government will take it from you and then, most kindly, pass it to on Jiminez as part of that Democrat "stimulus" package.
It's what called in Washington, D.C., "fairness."
The Lancaster Sunday News explains that previous government handout programs couldn't be so easily abused. But Team Obama's "stimulus" was special.
Previous rounds of federal stimulus funding have excluded those who owe "certain debts," such as back taxes, delinquent child support and student loans, according to the IRS Web site. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money earmarked for homelessness prevention came with no such strings attached.
Indeed, they say, the bar for eligibility was intentionally set comparatively low. There is no screening process in place to ensure that those who owe a debt to "society" don't get federal funds. The goal of the program is to deploy the money as rapidly as possible in response to immediate needs...
One would hope that the money given to "Big Bird" Jiminez was just an anomaly. But then we know how even the best laid plans go awry when deployed by bureaucrats. Indeed, the LSN story goes on to prove our fears are well founded.
Nationwide, there have been stories of stimulus money going to individuals or organizations with criminal records and outstanding fines.
In December, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University wrote that the Massachusetts Highway Division had "handed out millions in federal stimulus dollars for roadway construction to companies that have defrauded taxpayers, polluted the environment and have paid tens of thousands of dollars in fines for violating workplace safety laws."
Thirteen of 21 companies awarded transportation stimulus contracts had "a history of law breaking"; one firm, convicted in 2007 of defrauding taxpayers after "supplying thousands of truckloads of substandard concrete" to a major Boston-area road project, agreed to pay $50 million in civil and criminal penalties. Though it still owes more than $16 million, it got a transportation stimulus contract.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston told the Center for Investigative Reporting that the company could even use the federal stimulus dollars to pay its fine...
The crooks could even use "stimulus" dollars to pay their fine?
I think I'm going to go take an aspirin and lie down awhile.
