ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida officials are investigating an unemployment agency that spent public money to give 6,000 superhero capes to the jobless.

Workforce Central Florida spent more than $14,000 on the red capes as part of its “Cape-A-Bility Challenge” public relations campaign. The campaign featured a cartoon character, “Dr. Evil Unemployment,” who needs to be vanquished.

 Florida’s unemployment agency director asked Monday for an investigation of the regional operation’s spending after the Orlando Sentinel published a story about the program. State director Cynthia Lorenzo said the spending appeared to be “insensitive and wasteful.”

Workforce Central Florida Director Gary J. Earl defends the program, saying it is part of a greater effort to connect with the community. The agency says it served 210,000 people during its last fiscal year, placing nearly 59,000 in jobs.

Follow this link to the story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110419/ap_on_re_us/us_capes_for_the_unemployed

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-jobless-cape-probe-20110418,0,1218799.story

Face Forward Says:
Well the capes couldn’t have been too much at $2.33 each. However, my guess is that the unemployed in Florida would have been much more happy to have had the money spent on helping them get a job. Helping the unemployed produce a better resume or even polish their interview skills would have produced more results. 

When governments have money to spend, they will spend it. It should not surprise anyone that our social security system is broken, medicare cost are rising, and illegal aliens are able to (very easily) steal benefits that are paid for by borrowed money from China. Thank god we had enough left over so we could dress up the unemployed in red superhero capes. I know they felt good wearing them around town.

 Pitching the promise of energy independence, President Barack Obama cautioned Wednesday that it’s going to be tough to transition from America’s oil-dependent economy and acknowledged there’s little he can do to lower gas prices over the short term.

“I’m just going to be honest with you. There’s not much we can do next week or two weeks from now,” the president told workers at a wind turbine plant. It’s a theme Obama’s struck before as he tries to show voters he’s attuned to a top economic concern with gas prices pushing toward $4 a gallon.

Obama said he wants to move toward “a future where America is less dependent on foreign oil, more reliant on clean energy produced by workers like you.” That will happen by reducing oil imports, tapping domestic energy sources and shifting the nation to renewable and less polluting sources of energy, such as wind, the president says. He has set a goal of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025. 

But the president said it won’t happen overnight and if any politician says it’s easy, “they’re not telling the truth.”

“Gas prices? They’re going to still fluctuate until we can start making these broader changes, and that’s going to take a couple of years to have serious effect,” Obama said.

Obama needled one questioner who asked about gas prices, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know,” Obama said laughingly. “You might want to think about a trade-in.”

The president spoke at a town hall meeting at Gamesa Technology Corp., a Spanish company that makes giant turbines that use wind to generate electricity. According to the White House, it is the first overseas company of its kind to set up shop in the U.S.

 For the Rest of this Article:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obama-says-little-shortterm-apf-1680912387.html?x=0&.v=4

 Face Forward Comments:Holy freaking cow…… Who does this man think is being hurt by the fuel prices. Oh wait a minute, that’s right, he knows it is the working middle class that is paying the fuel bill right now. And he does not care. Those being least hurt are the public transportation crowd AKA his voters. What arrogance! For a American citizen asking a legitimate question, being needled by the president of the country. Can you imagine what would be said if Bush had said something like that to a voter?

And now finally, I wonder how much of your money, Mr and Mrs American middle class Tax Payer, was given to this Spanish company? It is something you should find out and if you don’t like it, I suggest you vote out the man who gave it to them.

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) – A Republican budget plan due to be unveiled on Tuesday would cut $5.8 trillion from U.S. spending over the next 10 years, a congressional aide familiar with the proposal said on Monday.

The plan, which would take effect when the next fiscal year starts on Oct. 1, is expected to propose sweeping changes to the Medicare and Medicaid health programs, as well as hard caps on government spending and tax cuts.

Face Forward Comments:
More Please. Even with this huge prposed cut we will add debt. We must make the hard choices now and stop electing people that cannot make them.

 While the economy keeps stumbling along, voters continue to express little confidence in government as the solution.

Just 27% of Likely U.S. Voters now think the government bailouts of banks, auto companies and insurance companies were good for the United States. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% regard the bailouts as bad for the country, identical to findings last month. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.

The latest numbers are consistent with findings since the first bailout was under discussion in September 2008. Since then, voters have consistently opposed the bailouts for both the financial sector and the auto industry. 

Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters, in fact, still worry that the federal government will do too much in reacting to the nation’s current economic problems. Thirty-nine percent (39%) fear that the government will not do enough. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure. These findings are in line with voter sentiments since November 2008 just after President Obama’s election and the Wall Street meltdown.  

Two-out-of-three Democrats (66%) fear the government will not do enough in reacting to the country’s current economic troubles. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republicans and 52% of voters not affiliated with either major party have the opposite concern, that the government will try to do too much.

 For the rest of the please follow this link:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/federal_bailout/march_2011/only_27_have_positive_view_of_government_bailouts