DownsizeDC.org
October 4, 2010
Stimulus: Government Snooping in Your Trash
Posted by John Markley

Somebody could be snooping in your trash . . . and you're paying for it!

In a growing number of cities across the U.S., local governments are placing computer chips in recycling bins to collect data on refuse disposal, and then fining residents who don't participate in recycling efforts and forcing others into educational programs meant to instill respect for the environment.

In at least one city, Dayton, Ohio, this invasion of your privacy is paid for by federal "Stimulus" funds.

Worse, there is evidence that recycling programs actually HARM the environment!

Dayton's recycling subsidy is just one of thousands of examples of misspent Stimulus funds, and another piece of evidence that the Stimulus should never have passed.

So please send another letter telling Congress to rescind all remaining Stimulus funds using DownsizeDC.org's Cut Spending Campaign.

You may borrow from or copy this letter . . .

The Stimulus was advertised as putting money in "shovel-ready" projects that would create jobs. But it is a gigantic waste and you must rescind all remaining funds.

For example: $500,000 went to the city of Dayton, Ohio to snoop in people's garbage and rearrange trash bins! http://www.whiotv.com/money/24513951/detail.html

This isn't job creation, it's social engineering.

Dayton's trash disposal policy is Dayton's concern, not mine or yours. The Constitution does not authorize the federal government to give aid to states or cities, which means federal funding of this program violates the Tenth Amendment.

There are 99 similarly wasteful projects listed in a report by Sens. McCain and Coburn that you should read. http://coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=a7e82141-1a9e-4eec-b160-6a8e62427efb

I resent my dollars paying for projects like these. Rescind the Stimulus!

END LETTER

You can send your letter through DownsizeDC.org's Educate the Powerful System.

And if you are as outraged by government waste as we are, please forward this to friends and "like" our Facebook page.

Thanks for being a DC Downsizer!

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Filed under Privacy & Security, Wealth & Poverty
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