Another state refuses Obama's higher spending requirement

It is not wise for any state to accept all of Obama's stimulus money because of the strings attached. The strings are the requirement to broaden the eligibility for welfare and it must continue after the money stop flowing. It's one step forward and 3 steps back.

If you were offered $1,000 a month to room and board a homeless person would you take it? What if the funding ended after 2 years, but you were required up-front to commit for 4 years. The first two years you would be ahead on the cash, but over 4 years you would be most of $20,000 behind.

Governor Sanford of South Carolina refused this unfair offer. And the Legislature of Virginia did so also yesterday.

If Obama is so caring why did he set this up so any responsible leader has to refuse it? His action causes more people on welfare. Does he want more people dependent "his" government.

Va. Assembly Rejects Stimulus Funds That Would've Expanded Jobless Benefits - washingtonpost.com:
RICHMOND, April 8 -- A divided General Assembly narrowly rejected $125 million in federal stimulus money Wednesday that would have provided additional unemployment benefits to thousands of jobless Virginians.

The defeat was a blow to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who had pushed the matter as the state legislature reconvened for a one-day session.

A visibly angry Kaine berated legislators after the vote and hinted that he might try to find another way to accept the federal money. "There's an awful lot of people who are hurting in Virginia, and the message to them seemed to be: 'We don't care. Fend for yourself,' " he said.

The GOP-controlled House of Delegates, a fiscally conservative body that has long opposed fundamental changes to laws that extend such benefits, killed the proposal after members argued it would translate into higher taxes for businesses once the supply of stimulus money was exhausted.

"We are being used," Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II (R-Fairfax) said. "Actually our constituents . . . who are now unemployed are being used by this administration to hold a gun to the head of this General Assembly with the assistance of the governor to force through a bad bill."

... The battle in Virginia reflects a partisan debate taking place in states around the country. Republican governors in several states have refused at least some federal stimulus money approved by President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress to expand benefits for the unemployed.