Pork Report October 28, 2009: Taxpayer Subsidies All Around Edition

There are millions of tweets every day, and the government is paying scientists $678,000 to read them and measure the happiness of the written expressions

National Science Foundation discovers the cure for politicians’ dismal approval ratings; Taxpayer funded researchers to brief Congress on how to increase constituent trust and approval ratings this Friday

The right to free speech now includes government subsidized cell phones; Phone companies receive up to $10 a month in government subsidies to cover what amounts to about $3 in service per beneficiary

“Cell phone ownership is a right,” says company that provides taxpayer subsidized phones

Taxpayers subsidize about $32 of the cost of a train ticket for every Amtrak passenger

Despites the massive $787 billion in federal stimulus spending, the national unemployment rate rises to nearly 9.8 percent and the nation marks the 21st month of net job losses, longer than at any time since the Great Depression…

The White House says stimulus spending has already had its biggest impact and probably won’t contribute to significant growth next year

Lives lost and millions of dollars of property destroyed because American Samoa diverted millions of dollars of federal Department of Homeland Security funds intended for disaster preparedness; DHS funds paid for flat-screen televisions, executive leather chairs, and extensive travel and entertainment charges including a Las Vegas junket

Junket watch: Speaking at a beachfront spa and resort, Federal Reserve Chairman says Americans need to save more and the country must “substantially reduce federal deficits”