The Associated Press is touting an estimate posted on the federal government’s Recovery.org website that $16 billion in stimulus contract spending has created or saved 30,000 jobs. So using the White House’s own numbers, this comes to $533,000 per job saved or created. Instead of expressing embarrassment at a policy of spending $533,000 per job — about ten times the median income — the AP quotes White House economic advisor Jared Bernstein, stating that while it is early, “the early indications are quite positive.” Despite these “positive” indications, the unemployment rate has surged to nearly 10%, despite an earlier report by Bernstein predicting that unemployment would peak at 8% with a stimulus bill.
Even this data should be taken with a grain of salt. The administration figures make sense only until one asks where the government got the money to spend. Before Washington could spend $16 billion employing contractors, they had to borrow that $16 billion out of the private economy, which now has that much less to spend supporting jobs. The White House merely shifted this spending power from the private sector to the government. And its safe to assume that had the private sector kept and spent this $16 billion rather than lent it to Washington, it could have done better than $533,000 per job.
By Neal, Thursday, 17th of September 2009 at 11:04 AM
John Stewart on the ACORN Pimp-Gate. Finally, someone — a fake journalist — is calling the MSM on it’s complete incompetence in being scooped by a 20 and a 25-year old on a $3000 budget.
What makes a beautiful life? I’ve always believed the surest sign is a person who loves to live and loves his life. Kenneth Kumpel was such a man.
Spend any time reading about Kenneth Kumpel, and one thing becomes crystal clear: he had a passion for living. At its essence, a firefighter takes great risk in order to save the lives of others. Such sacrifice can only come from a person whose love of living is so great that he will risk it to preserve life for others. His wife of 18 years, Nancy, said that “he was always a firefighter at heart. … He loved the camaraderie of it. He lived firefighting every moment of the day. … The Fire Department definitely helped complete him.” That kind of dedication comes from a man who is passionate about his work. A passion for work is a passion for living.
Kenneth was also the chef in the family. I know from personal experience that anyone who loves to cook is an artist. Chefs thrive on making a necessity of life — eating — a beautiful, delicious, entertaining experience: taking a requirement of life and making it a pleasure of life. Kenneth shared this gift with his family and friends. “‘There was never a woman in the kitchen at holidays,’ said Mr. Kumpel’s mother-in-law, Barbara Gorman. She and her husband, James, enjoyed the feasts the firefighters in the family prepared — their son, Jim, also a firefighter, was Mr. Kumpel’s friend as well as his brother-in-law.” Cooking is almost a lost art in modern America, but not to Kenneth Kumpel. He took the firefighters practice of cooking in the firehouse and brought it home to share with family and friends. A passion for cooking is a passion for living.
Kenneth also loved the water. He and his family lived in the town Cornwall-on-Hudson, drawn there to be next to the river he so enjoyed. “A sleek black boat, named Batboat in honor of their sons’ favorite superhero, was the family’s vehicle for enjoying the peace and beauty of the river.” He and his wife also enjoyed the ultimate water sport, scuba diving, and they would periodically travel to Aruba or the Cayman Islands — classic, diving destinations.
Kenneth Kumpel also enjoyed woodworking, making stained glass, and constructing a beautiful home for his family. “A craftsman with the skill and attention to detail of a pro, Mr. Kumpel renovated his family’s former home in West Brighton, and he built their home in Cornwall. A perfectionist, he took satisfaction in the ‘extra details and finishing touches,’ said his wife.”
Because firefighters can have a few days off between shifts, Firefighter Kumpel, a steady, warm presence, had time for his sons. He cooked, cleaned, coached, volunteered and endlessly fixed up their house in Cornwall, N.Y., perfecting his stained-glass windows, tiling and floors.
Food, clothing and shelter are commonly referred to as “the necessities of life.” Kenneth Kumpel took at least two of these three and turned them into “a passion of life.” This is a passion for living.
Kenneth was a family man. He and his wife Nancy, whom he married in 1982, have two sons, Gregory and Carl. Kenneth would take them boating, play sports, and was a coach in their recreational soccer and baseball leagues. “The family enjoyed vacations together at Lake George, N.Y., and recently vacationed in Florida, where they alternated between the excitement of a theme park and the calm of hanging out, swimming, and barbecuing at the condo.”
Kenneth never lost the youthful qualities of play and humor. Firefighting is a deadly serious business, and Kenneth Kumpel was a professional. However, he didn’t let that fact change his lighthearted, happy outlook on life. In the firehouse, “he also developed quite a reputation as a practical joker, once switching the hinges and handles on a refrigerator so it opened from the opposite side, and placing beds on soda cans, for a surprising effect when someone sat down.” He was also known to smear peanut butter on the phone receiver. Not any man can handle the risk and pressure of being a firefighter, but a man who loves his life and enjoys it every minute can handle it. Kenneth Kumpel was that man.
Kenneth loved his work as a firefighter, the art of cooking, the craftsman art of woodworking and stained glass, enjoying recreation such as boating and scuba diving, coaching (and playing with) his two sons at soccer and baseball, making music, playing practical jokes, and much more. This is living at its best. These are the active creations of an artist who loves his craft, and no amount of money can instill this in a person who doesn’t possess it. If you want to know the secret to happiness in this world, look at the life of Kenneth Kumpel and the passion he had for living.
Personal Note
On a personal note, I’d like to thank Dale Challener Roe for organizing “the 2,996 project” because it has given me the opportunity to discover and honor this great man and American hero, Kenneth Kumpel. “Kenny” feels like a brother to me, and I think there is some higher power that destined me to learn about this man and honor him with my tribute.
From cooking to diving, to playing sports with his kids, to playing musical instruments, this is a man after my own heart.
To his wife Nancy, sons Gregory and Carl, and mother Lois: your husband, father and son is a great man. My deepest sympathies go out to you and your family, and I’m so sorry for your terrible loss. Kenneth, you are a hero of the finest kind. You willingly gave your life so that others may live, but it comforts me to know that you didn’t waste the time given to you on this earth. You, sir, truly have a passion for living.
I think a fitting way to close this tribute is with a poem by Jacob Katz, a fourth grader (at the time of writing) in the Yavneh Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Kenneth Kumpel, “fix-it” man
Husband & father of two sons
Was first a policeman,then a fireman
He only thought of others lives
To lose this hero is unberable.
Sincerely, Jacob Katz
4th grade, Yavneh Day School
A quiet person who was happier doing things than talking about them, Firefighter Kenneth Kumpel’s presence was manifested in his beautiful craftsmanship — and the pranks he played.
The 42-year-old family man lived in Cornwall-on-Hudson, an upstate town to which he and his wife were drawn because of its location on the river. A sleek black boat, named “Batboat” in honor of their sons’ favorite superhero, was the family’s vehicle for enjoying the peace and beauty of the river.
…
He always had time for his sons, Gregory and Carl, whether it was boating, a game of kickball or coaching organized sports of soccer or baseball. The family enjoyed vacations together at Lake George, N.Y., and recently vacationed in Florida, where they alternated between the excitement of a theme park and the calm of hanging out, swimming, and barbecuing at the condo.
Mr. and Mrs. Kumpel periodically took off as a couple to Aruba or the Cayman Islands, where they enjoyed scuba diving.
Mr. Kumpel also indulged in the firefighter’s avocation of cooking. He was the chef in the family, according to his wife, with a finely developed palate that told him just the right ingredients to add. She might bake a chicken, but he would prepare shrimp scampi.
…
Kenneth Kumpel was a New York City police officer for four years before changing careers. He was assigned to a precinct that covered Chinatown and, later, Manhattan’s infamous “Alphabet City,” said his wife, Nancy Kumpel.
But “he was always a firefighter at heart,” she said.
– Bill Kaufman (Newsday)
…
Kenneth Kumpel, a firefighter with the New York Fire Department, was a prankster and a craftsman. He built the family’s home in Cornwall after renovating their former home in West Brighton. As a practical joke, he once switched the handles and hinges on a firehouse refrigerator so it opened from the opposite side. At a memorial Mass, an FDNY marine unit fireboat sprayed plumes of water, making rainbows in the air. The display honored Kumpel’s love of the Hudson River and the family’s boat, which was christened the Batboat.
Raised by his mother and grandmother, Kenneth Kumpel, 42, spent much of his adulthood filling in the gaps left by an absentee father. He was a self- taught handyman and craftsman around the house; an endlessly patient, delighted father of Gregory, 11, and Carl, 9; a buddy who sought, through work, the camaraderie of other guys, first as a New York City police officer and then, more happily, as a firefighter.
Because firefighters can have a few days off between shifts, Firefighter Kumpel, a steady, warm presence, had time for his sons. He cooked, cleaned, coached, volunteered and endlessly fixed up their house in Cornwall, N.Y., perfecting his stained-glass windows, tiling and floors.
That was his castle, his home. But the firehouse — Ladder Company 25 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side — was Firefighter Kumpel’s home away from home. He would fix up the firehouse, too. Oh boy, would he.
Why is that bed slowly sinking to the floor when a firefighter flops on it? Someone propped it on empty soda cans! Who switched the handles and hinges on the refrigerator door? Smeared peanut butter on the phone receiver? “The Fire Department definitely helped complete him,” said Nancy Kumpel, his wife of 18 years.
Kenneth Kumpel returned to the river he loved so dearly earlier this month. The Hudson River meant so much to the Schenectady-born firefighter who lived along its mighty shores with his wife, Nancy, and two sons, Gregory and Carl. Ashes collected from Ground Zero were tossed over the side of the family’s boat not too long ago as a symbol of his sacrifice. Kumpel was a volunteer with the Highland Engine Company and the New Hyde Park Fire Department in Long Island. He was a giver and loved firefighting. He was 42. (62 Days Article)
I remember your husband and children’s father as such a great down to earth guy who was always making your sons laugh and always brought a smile to the community. My family is good friends with yours and I used to baby sit the boys when they were little and I just wanted to let you know your family is always in my prayers and tonight at my school Oneonta State College we are holding a memorial service where his name will be put on a banner so that we will never forget
— Kristin Kukkonen (Cornwall, NY)
…
My name is Jim Gorman and I am the Brother-in-Law of Kenny. I am also a NYC Fireman. I would like to take this time to thank all of you who have done something for Kenny and all of our brothers (NYC Firemen), as well as all of the people who were lost in the attacks on America. There’s not a day that my sister and her sons, my parents or anyone in my family doesn’t think of Kenny. We all miss and will never forget him. He was a GREAT man! God bless you and America.
— James Gorman (Staten Island, NY)
*** UPDATES: Post-tribute information ***
September 11, 2001 Victims — a memorial site dedicated to the victims of September 11, 2001. Here are the posts for Kenneth Kumpel.
Post from Charla M. Billings:
I was so excited to see that a memorial quilt is being made for the 9-11 victims. I searched the list for a firefighter who did not yet have someone working on a quilt square……there was one left: Mr. Kumpel. I feel his name was left for me for several reasons. I have a son his age and my youngest son is a firefighter/paramedic here in Texas. The similarities in Mr. Kumpel and my firefighter son are amazing: the love of working with wood and being a perfectionist at it, the love of being “the” cook; the volunteering at local firestations during “off” time; the love of diving (my son is a certified swift water rescuer. My son is also on the state rescue team and would have loved to have been called to New York to help in the rescue. It would be wonderful to correspond with Mr. Kumpel’s family. My heart goes out to them and I will now be able to focus on a real person in my prayers for 9-11 victims. Thank you.
Post from Gary Biggerstaff LBFD:
In the months that followed 9-11-2001 I visited ground zero and was overcome with the site of the wreckage and all the personal notes left for the missing. Among them I found hand written notes from Ken Kumpel’s young boys attached to a dozen photos of them together. The photos showed happier times with his wife and son’s on vacation. One note from Kens 9 year old son read as follows. ” Dad- you will always be my hero, I love you and miss you very much. I hope I get to see you in heaven some day. I hope you don’t forget me. I will never forget you.” Being a fireman in California myself and a father of two young boys I was deeply touched by this 9 year olds sentiments. I returned home and created 343 personalized white crosses that I display at my home each September 11th to honor those who gave so much. Ken is not only a hero to his son’s, he is a hero to me. These crosses can be seen by visiting remember911ride.com.
Not so thrilled about ObamaCare? If you’ve attended one of the many town hall meetings to discuss this issue with your Representative, well, you’re un-American according to Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer.
In the meantime, as members of Congress spend time at home during August, they are talking with their constituents about reform. The dialogue between elected representatives and constituents is at the heart of our democracy and plays an integral role in assuring that the legislation we write reflects the genuine needs and concerns of the people we represent.
But wait? This grand pontificating on “the dialogue between elected representatives and constituents” rings hollow considering what Jonah Goldberg points out:
if Pelosi and Hoyer had their way, these townhalls would be delivering a fait-accompli because the Democrats, starting with Obama, wanted their partisan version of health care reform to be made law before the August recess. If they had won, there would be no debate, civil or otherwise, right now because they would have steamrolled the opposition already. So what are they complaining about?
Back to Princess Pelosi and Hoyer:
However, it is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue. …
These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.
Uh-huh. My how things change when the shoe is on the other foot.
The “public plan” is not about choice — it is about eliminating private insurance companies so that there is a single-payer system, the Imperial Federal government of the United States. It’s been designed that way from scratch.
Remember the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bill to bail out the banks? Well, as it turns out, the Treasury Department has not exactly been forthcoming about the final bill. So says Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Watchdog: Financial Bailout Support Could Reach $23.7 Trillion:
The total price tag for federal support stemming from the financial crisis could reach $23.7 trillion in the long run, the government’s top bailout watchdog says in a new report to Congress.
Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, plans to deliver his report Tuesday to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The $23.7 trillion figure is admittedly a high-ball number and reflects the total potential gross exposure, but Barofsky in his prepared testimony notes that the TARP — which started as a $700 billion bailout — has expanded well beyond that.
“TARP has evolved into a program of unprecedented scope, scale and complexity. Moreover, TARP does not function in a vacuum but is rather part of the broader government efforts to stabilize the financial system,” the report says.
“The total potential federal government support could reach up to $23.7 trillion,” the report estimates, factoring in commitments from “dozens of programs” implemented throughout the federal government since 2007.
In supporting documentation obtained by FOXNews.com, the inspector general’s office explains that the $23.7 trillion spans about 50 “initiatives or programs” created by federal agencies in the wake of the economic crisis.
The estimate covers commitments that could come from programs at the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies.
It notes that the total “financial exposure” of TARP and related programs alone could reach $3 trillion.
While not a firm or official figure, the estimate has the potential to send lawmakers into sticker shock.
“The potential financial commitment the American taxpayers could be responsible for is of a size and scope that isn’t even imaginable,” Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking Republican on the oversight committee, said in a written statement. “If you spent a million dollars a day going back to the birth of Christ, that wouldn’t even come close to just $1 trillion — $23.7 trillion is a staggering figure.”
In the report, Barofsky also says that the Treasury Department has “repeatedly failed” to adopt recommendations that his office believes will bring more transparency and accountability to the execution of the bailout.
Transparency and accountability: Change you can believe in.
Well, it only took the first 16 pages of the House’s Health Care bill to kill private insurance. Read this article at Investor’s Business Daily, It’s Not An Option:
Congress: It didn’t take long to run into an “uh-oh” moment when reading the House’s “health care for all Americans” bill. Right there on Page 16 is a provision making individual private medical insurance illegal.
When we first saw the paragraph Tuesday, just after the 1,018-page document was released, we thought we surely must be misreading it. So we sought help from the House Ways and Means Committee.
It turns out we were right: The provision would indeed outlaw individual private coverage. Under the Orwellian header of “Protecting The Choice To Keep Current Coverage,” the “Limitation On New Enrollment” section of the bill clearly states:
“Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day” of the year the legislation becomes law.
So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised — with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won’t be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers.
From the beginning, opponents of the public option plan have warned that if the government gets into the business of offering subsidized health insurance coverage, the private insurance market will wither. Drawn by a public option that will be 30% to 40% cheaper than their current premiums because taxpayers will be funding it, employers will gladly scrap their private plans and go with Washington’s coverage.
The nonpartisan Lewin Group estimated in April that 120 million or more Americans could lose their group coverage at work and end up in such a program. That would leave private carriers with 50 million or fewer customers. This could cause the market to, as Lewin Vice President John Sheils put it, “fizzle out altogether.”
What wasn’t known until now is that the bill itself will kill the market for private individual coverage by not letting any new policies be written after the public option becomes law.
The legislation is also likely to finish off health savings accounts, a goal that Democrats have had for years. They want to crush that alternative because nothing gives individuals more control over their medical care, and the government less, than HSAs.
With HSAs out of the way, a key obstacle to the left’s expansion of the welfare state will be removed.
The public option won’t be an option for many, but rather a mandate for buying government care. A free people should be outraged at this advance of soft tyranny.
Washington does not have the constitutional or moral authority to outlaw private markets in which parties voluntarily participate. It shouldn’t be killing business opportunities, or limiting choices, or legislating major changes in Americans’ lives.
It took just 16 pages of reading to find this naked attempt by the political powers to increase their reach. It’s scary to think how many more breaches of liberty we’ll come across in the final 1,002.
Michelle Malkin has more here. This bill is truly the death of choice which will lead to the death of Americans. If this doesn’t wake you up, then enjoy your eternal rest.
Don’t miss George Will’s column, “Have We Got a Deal For You”. The article touches on the fact that the sickly “Government Motors” will now have an unfair advantage over a healthy Ford.
One other point to consider is that Ford’s very employees — members of the UAW — are now owner-partners with the government of another car company: GM. What a damn mess.
GM is adopting new ways to lose money: Responsive to its UAW masters, GM is moving from China to America the production of some components of one Chevrolet model. Says UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, “It should be built here if it’s going to be sold here.” That principle, now successfully asserted, means economic autarky — the end of international trade, and of prosperity.
The government’s $50 billion — so far — acquisition of the shadow of GM will injure, with unfair financial advantages, the surprisingly healthy U.S. auto company, Ford. Of course, the government does not intend that injury, any more than it intended to cause protests in Mexico over the high price of corn tortillas, a result of Washington’s mandate that Americans burn corn (ethanol) in their cars.
Washington’s “rescue” of GM began because GM is “too big to fail,” and bankruptcy is (well, was) “unthinkable.” Big? GM’s market capitalization, $375.8 million on Wednesday, is about the size of California Pizza Kitchen’s ($340 million) — is it too big to fail? — and one-eleventh that of Harley-Davidson ($4.3 billion). Fail? If GM has not already failed, New Coke was a success.
The administration is determined to prop up GM as a jobs program for the UAW and Midwestern states rich in electoral votes. This frenzy will intensify as the administration’s decisions deepen the debacle.
Thank you, Charles Krauthammer, for saying what so badly needed saying:
Over the last decade, the U.S. government has understood that any final peace treaty would involve Israel retaining some of the close-in settlements — and compensating the Palestinians accordingly with land from within Israel itself.
That was envisioned in the Clinton plan in the Camp David negotiations in 2000, and again at Taba in 2001. After all, why turn towns to rubble when, instead, Arabs and Jews can stay in their homes if the 1949 armistice line is shifted slightly into the Palestinian side to capture the major close-in Jewish settlements, and then shifted into Israeli territory to capture Israeli land to give to the Palestinians?
This idea is not only logical, not only accepted by both Democratic and Republican administrations for the last decade, but was agreed to in writing in the letters of understanding exchanged between Israel and the United States in 2004 — and subsequently overwhelmingly endorsed by a concurrent resolution of Congress.
Yet the Obama State Department has repeatedly refused to endorse these agreements or even say it will honor them. This from a president who piously insists that all parties to the conflict honor previous obligations.
The entire “natural growth” issue is a concoction. It’s farcical to suggest that the peace process is moribund because a teacher in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is making an addition to her house to accommodate new grandchildren — when Gaza is run by Hamas terrorists dedicated to permanent war with Israel and when Mahmoud Abbas, having turned down every one of Ehud Olmert’s peace offers, brazenly declares that he is in a waiting mode — waiting for Hamas to become moderate and for Israel to cave — before he’ll do anything to advance peace.
