Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, mad at Jindal
By lilwonders
@lilwonders456 (8214)
United States
February 25, 2009 7:49pm CST
Gov. Bobby Jindal made a comment in his speech last night about federal money going to monitor volcanoes. Well Pollard is mad about that."Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard?" Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, Washington, said on Wednesday. "We have one that's very active, and it still rumbles and spits and coughs very frequently." Jindal singled out a $140 million appropriation for the U.S. Geological Survey as an example of questionable government spending.He questioned why "something called 'volcano monitoring' " was included in the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus bill.
What what does valcano monitoring stimulate our economy? Also it is the responsibility of the state with the valcano to monitor it if needed. Not the federal gov. or the rest of the nations tax payers to pay for their valcano."Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington," Jindal said.
SHould have this been included in the stimulus bill? Will it stimulate our economy? Should the federal government even be responsible for it? Tell me what you think.
2 people like this
7 responses
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
26 Feb 09
How many jobs would that actually create? Probably zero. They are already monitoring that volcano and others. Experts are on site who apparently want to update their equipment and put more sensors in the ground or send another robot into the crater or something. The equipment maker might get a little boost. Still, no, I don't think it would really stimulate anything and shouldn't have been in the bill. Should the federal government be responsible for that. Maybe in part as there are volcanos in other states and gysers. Still, it should not have been in the bill and is obvious pork.
I think Jindal did a good job. Did you hear the Chris Matthews quietly uttered "Oh God" when Jindal prepared to give the Republican Party response? Too funny! (He claimed to have reacted to the stagecraft... yeah right!)
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
26 Feb 09
ROFL, anniepa, do you always have to buy into the partyline? He obviously had to come up with something to explain his reaction. Of course he immediately had to show it all in a bad light. IMO, the White House imitation and antebellum whatever stagecraft explanation was in bad taste. Really? He could have come up with something better. Until he said it, nobody saw it because it wasn't there and is farfetched.
And yes, it's the DEMOCRATIC consensus that Jindal's speech was bad, lol, bad for them!
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I thought Matthews bahavior was wrong. It shows absolutely not respect for Jindal. But sense when is the press very fair or balanced. I heard CNN pick on him most of the day. They went after Palin when she looked like she may be a hot new player in teh party. Now Jindal is going to get the same treatment because he is a big up and comer in the party. Basically the news has a seek and destroy mission when it comes to young republicans.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
26 Feb 09
Well if you want to knit pick, you can make a very good case that tax cuts and/or rebates to the middle class also do not belong in a stimulous package. Most of that money will go right into a savings account and do nothing whatsoever to stimulate the economy. Yet Republicans demanded that that part of the package be increased.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
26 Feb 09
thread. The argument was that it is a stimulous package and only things that stimulate the economy belong in it. So therefore, tax rebates that do nothing to stimulate the economy also do not belong in that package. If they expanded the food stamp program and gave EVERYBODY some free foodstamps that could only be used to buy food or if they gave everybody a rebate that could only be used to do two or three things (eg buy an American made car could be one). That would stimulate the economy. As it now stands those tax cuts and/or rebates will do exactly what the one's Bush gve did for the economy - NOTHING.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
26 Feb 09
You don't have to be an economist to realize that these are not the same times or the same circumstances that Reagan came to. Ronald Reagan, to his credit, did very well as long as he retained Paul Volker and he started to flounder when he latched on to Alan Greenspan. (Reagan was the first president to dismantle some of Glass Staegall. Not that I'm putting the blame on him entirely. It was totally non partisan as was the seciond gutting of that all important regulation under Clinton. But it is a major reason we are in today's mess)...Anyway, Paul Volker is now on the Obama team and when he feels things are not going the right way, he should have no problem speaking out. He was the only member of government to object to the repeal of Glass Steagall. In fact he went on record objecting to it and time has certainly proven him right.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
26 Feb 09
Just because it's good and/or necessary, doesn't mean it belongs in a stimulus bill. That's like having an energy bill that also raises the pay for school teachers. Sure, we all want school teachers to make more money, but their pay raise has no place in an energy bill.
Aside from that, as you said, such things are the responsibility of the state not the federal government.
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
26 Feb 09
I supose it is a concern, but it is a seperate issue and should be in the NSGS and FEMA's budget. It is also first and formost the reponsability of the stae containing that volcano, just as much as it is lousiana's responsability to be ready for a hurricane. The federal goervnment bears some reponsability, comes loosely under the common defense requirement, but the states should take the lead in these things because they are the ones imediatly responsable and bets placed to do more for the people in their states.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
26 Feb 09
I agree. the state needs to take care of it and if need be fema. But it had no business being in a "stimulus plan".
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
26 Feb 09
The whole stimulus bill is one giant pork barrel. It is all about what state could get the most pork for their constituants! That is it. No one really cares if it helps the country, as long as they get re-elected by getting the most bucks for their state! Look at Pelosi's share. She is sure to hang onto her job. It is just sicko.
Shalom~Adoniah
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
26 Feb 09
Sick is an understatement. It is not even going to stimulate the economy. It was just one big pet project spending spree.
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
26 Feb 09
Now, now you aren't looking at it the right way. I'm hoping to take advantage of this and become gainfully employed. I'll be driving around looking for any signs of volcano activity in Kansas. Yell out my car window "Six o' clock and all is well." 
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
26 Feb 09
It's Kansas, anything is possible. We had an earthquake in 1999 so a volcano wouldn't surprise me. I have to admit I didn't feel anything. The earth did not move under my feet.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
26 Feb 09
Contact congress....they would be stupid enough to give you money to monitor volcanos in Kansas.
@deejean06 (1952)
• United States
26 Feb 09
Whatever Governor Jindal said would have been criticized by someone. Of course the one thing he uses as an example in his rebuttal of the President's speech is something that irked another politician. I guess the volcano counts as infrastructure because the government was going to stimulate the economy by boosting such projects?
