I’ve been looking over the Senate Stimulus Bill to see what’s in it for me. I’m trying to find programs, projects, grants, …, anything that will help me with my monthly utility bills or mortgage payments, make it easier to get a business loan or a car loan, keep my employer in business, or at least slow down the erosion of my retirement savings. I know this sounds selfish, but isn’t the Stimulus supposed to stimulate my economic activity.

Except for some tax cuts that amount to chump change (and that’s only if I qualify for them), I haven’t found anything for me yet. But there are 1588 pages (up from the 647 page House version) and they are still adding to it, so I guess I’ll keep looking. There’s got to be something for me in such a colossal spending binge.

In contrast, I’ve found all kinds of things for government. Evidently, self-interest isn’t selfish for government. While businesses are laying people off and closing down, government is growing in leaps and bounds. And, while I’m having to cut back on everything but the basics, the government is using my tax money to lavish itself with expensive gifts. Furthermore, government needs them right away (We must act now) to stave off a national catastrophe. Here’s a list of some of the stuff just for the federal government - this after they stripped out the pork, pet projects and earmarks:

	$5.5 billion for making federal buildings "green" (including $448 million for the Department of Homeland Security's headquarters)
	$198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters
	$200 million for workplace safety in Department of Agriculture facilities
	$75 million for the Smithsonian Institution
	$300 million more for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees
	$180 million for construction of Bureau of Land Management facilities
	$500 million for wildland fire management
	$110 million for construction for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
	$522 million for construction for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
	$412 million for Centers for Disease Control headquarters
	$500 million earmark for National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland
	$100 million for constructing U.S. Marshalls office buildings
	$300 million for constructing Federal Bureau of Investigation office buildings
	$800 million for constructing Federal Prison System buildings and facilities
	$307 million for constructing National Institute for Standards and Technology office buildings
	$1 billion for administrative costs and construction of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office buildings
	$600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees
	$125 million for the Washington, D.C. sewer system
	$88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service
	$75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI
	$60 million for Arlington National Cemetery
	$75 million to construct a new “security training” facility for State Department Security officers
	$110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems