Jonathan Kantrowitz

by David Kostek, New Canaan resident

Congressman Jim Himes’ most likely opponent, Dan Debicella, has starting spending some of the money he doesn’t have on TV ads.

I have been keeping an eye on Dan Debicella’s tendency to play loose with the facts for some time now. So when the ad opened with a flat-out made-up number, I was stunned. I shouldn’t have been, I know. If Dan Debicella met an honest statement at a cocktail party, they’d require an introduction. But still, to be so bold as to be so wrong right off the bat struck even me as absurd.

Dan opens his ad with a graphic superimposed over a shot of the Capitol, showing a headline “Stimulus Spending totals $877 billion” That is jaw-droppingly wrong. The total cost of the stimulus is $787 billion (note the transposed numbers). And, critically, that is the cost, which has two elements — spending and tax cuts. To break it down, the stimulus provides for about $275 billion in tax cuts and about $512 billion in spending. To say that “Stimulus spending totals $877 billion” is wrong. It inflates the actual spending approved by Congress by 71%.

Not only is he starting his advertising with an obvious, quantifiable lie, but in his campaign, Debicella routinely proposes “that we repeal the 80% of stimulus money that has yet to be distributed” and grant a $1500 tax credit instead. He then goes on to say how that will reduce the deficit by doing arithmetic that would cause Shelton’s CMT scores to drop if he tried to pass it off as legit on a fourth-grade test.

As a service to Mr. Debicella, I provide this link. It shows exactly how much has been spent already, how much has been approved (but not yet spent) and how much remains to be spent. It also shows the magnitude of the tax cuts already enjoyed by Americans and the value of tax cuts still to come. Dan can look across all agencies to see which have already spent most of their allocations, and which (like the Department of Homeland Security) will be using stimulus funds in the future. Because, if you want to repeal the “unspent” stimulus, you must realize that, as of July 9th, the amount of funding for remaining spending is $177 billion. By January, I imagine that number will be down to $51 billion or so (I applied the same monthly rate of spending since the stimulus was signed into law). Eighty percent of that is about $40 billion in unspent stimulus.

Debicella concedes that his tax cut proposal would cost $350 billion. So he wants to repeal $40 billion in spending and grant $350 billion in tax cuts, yet he claims it would reduce the deficit by $150 billion. Fuzzy math Dan. In order for a $350 billion tax cut to result in $150 billion in savings, you’d need to repeal $500 billion in unspent stimulus money. You can’t; he’s using the original $512 billion amount in his math. In other words, he’s lying about the savings in his big idea. Debicella’s plan would have to somehow unpave the roads, un-hire the cops, rip out the improvements to train stations, reconvert the fleet of DOT trucks to high-emissions, and make all those buildings energy inefficient again. You’d need to pretend the forensics crews never processed the thousands of DNA profiles that were backlogged, rip out the new sewer systems, and magically un-immunize all those kids.

Then you’d have to demand that all the contractors and employees return the money to the treasury. At that point, you’d be back to the original $512 billion in approved spending. Of course, if we follow Dan’s retroactive repeal plan, but repealed only 80% of it (as he is proposing) you’d only be repealing $410 billion. $410 – $350 does not equal $150 in deficit reduction as he claims. He’s just making the deficit reduction number up, even if we allow the for the impossible repeal of “unspent” stimulus. The real number that’s even possible to repeal (good luck getting that through the Senate and past a veto) will be somewhere between today’s $177 billion and my projection of $40 billion. Debicella’s proposal adds to the deficit substantially, no matter what. And if he repeals the remaining $49 billion in tax cuts, well, then I’m afraid my brain won’t survive the resulting influx of incoherence.

Debicella’s position on the stimulus is a joke. Just using basic arithmetic you can see there is no merit in his claims. The $877 billion number is pulled out of thin air, or intentionally transposes the numbers in the legislation ($787 b) to make it look bigger than it was. Or he is referring to China’s stimulus plan which was valued at $877 billion. I really hope that’s not the error. I really hope he’s merely lying, because confusing the USA with China is pretty scary for a major-party nominee. His proposal to repeal 80% of the unspent stimulus, offer up a tax credit, yet still reduce the deficit is also impossible. I-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e. Legislatively, it’s impossible, of course, but even if you set that aside, he must be using the original allocation amount in his calculation. But that money has already been put to use all over our state and district. Just ask Governor Rell.

Here’s a Rell press release from July 12: Governor Rell: State Surpasses $1 Billion In Stimulus Funds Committed to Projects, Initiatives. Yeah, July 12th, 2009. A billion dollars to CT in the first half of 2009. Dan Debicella calls this “nothing.”

Since the stimulus was approved, Governor Rell has been issuing press release after press release after press release announcing how we are using stimulus funds for law enforcement, education, reducing energy costs and emissions, easing unemployment, and more. Again, as a service to Dan Debicella, I provide these links to a handful of the 100 or so announcements from his governor, Jodi Rell:

• Governor Rell Announces Connecticut To Receive $58.6 Million in Stimulus Funds for Unemployed
• Stimulus Funds to Enable Domestic Violence Shelters to Stay Open 24/7
• State To Receive $25.7 Million In Stimulus Funds for Education
• $3 Million in Federal Funds To Upgrade, Enhance Criminal Justice IT System
• Stimulus-Funded DNA Work at State Forensics Lab Clearing Cases, Cutting Backlog
• $600,000 in Stimulus Funds To Upgrade Parole Board Information System
• Stimulus Grants Available Special Education Programs, Local School Budgets
• Stimulus Funding Will Bolster DNA Collection, Database
• Stimulus Providing Emergency Food Aid
• $138 Million in Stimulus Funding for Special Education
• State Getting $9.5 Million In Stimulus Grants for Energy Efficiency Projects
• Governor Rell Announces Stimulus Funding for Veterans Home Renovations
• State Awarded $2.5 Million from Stimulus for Rotavirus Vaccine Program
• $225 Million Available To Help Towns Lower Financing Costs for Construction Projects
• $4 Million in Stimulus Funds to Help Homeowners ‘Go Solar’ With Hot Water Systems
• Statewide Labor Programs Gearing Up for Summer Youth Workforce
• State Receiving $1.8 Million in Stimulus For Broadband Mapping, Data Collection and Planning
• Governor Rell Debuts New Stimulus-Funded CTTransit Buses
• State Awarded $7.3 Million in Stimulus To Upgrade, Enhance Health Information Network
• $7 Million Stimulus Boost for State Child Care Providers
• Stimulus Funds Helping Provide Summer Employment for Young Workers
• Stimulus-Funded Projects for Drinking Water, Sewer Upgrades Underway
• 10 Statewide Law Enforcement Projects Slated for Stimulus Funding
• $163 Million in Stimulus Funds To Bolster Bus, Rail and Greenway Projects
• $48 Million in Stimulus Funds to Improve Water, Sewer Systems Statewide

These are some of Rell’s words, taken from those press releases:

“Connecticut is taking full advantage of the stimulus to get our economy on the move”… “The federal stimulus act is giving us a chance to rebuild our economy and improve the quality of life in our state” … “The workers on these sites will pump money back into local economies” … “These funds address the critical special education needs in our schools and also will help put money back into local economies by hiring staff and purchasing new equipment” … “The DNA database remains one of the best items in our crime-fighting toolkit [and] the funding from the stimulus will help us keep it in top working order” … “Particularly important is that many of these innovative projects will help create green collar jobs and boost the local business community” … “These stimulus dollars will enable us to continue to dedicate key resources toward prosecuting these crimes to the fullest extent of the law” … “By lowering the costs of financing for these shovel-ready projects, we are providing a boost to the local and state economies and putting people to work when they need it most” … “All of these [sewer and water system] projects have significant public health benefits… Just as importantly, design and construction at each and every one of these sites are providing jobs”

– Jodi Rell in various press releases

Repeal? Debicella simply must know that repeal is impossible, and moreover, even if it was possible, there is about $50 billion left to repeal. He must know that the stimulus authorized $512 billion in spending, not nearly 900. He must know that it contains enormous tax cuts. He’s deceiving primary voters now, and will be launching the same deceptive campaign in the general if he prevails. It’s what he does.

Dan Debicella went to Wharton. While there, he was a member of the Undergraduate Assembly. In fact, he chaired it in the fall of 1994. That’s when other members of the UA tried to impeach him.

The attempted impeachment came after several UA members accused Debicella of repeatedly lying to the body about several issues. “It was definitely more than one time,” UA member and College junior Lance Rogers said. “I don’t trust him now [but] I hope one day I can.” [Senior Dan] Schorr agreed, saying he does not trust Debicella either and does not know if the body as a whole could trust its chairperson. Debicella said last night that he “misled the body on certain occasions.”

Lying in a TV ad is par for the course.