The actual numbers are in the last update, thanks to the Heritage Foundation. Read down to the bottom, but don’t forget to read my post, too!
It is now 7 PM and the Democrats in Congress have yet to give their Republican counterparts a copy of the final Stimulus Bill for them to read. Steny Hoyer says that the House is going to move toward a vote starting at 9 AM tomorrow.
Today’s version of the bill clocks in at 1,434 pages and that’s not the final version. What Congress will likely vote on tomorrow (because President Obama has practically demanded that he sign it on Monday) is likely going to be larger.
There is no chance in the world that any member of Congress is going to be able to read the bill by morning unless they are a trained speed reader. Even then, they’re not going to know the full ramifications of what the bill contains. I’ll do some back of the envelope calculations to prove it.
Let’s start with two generous assumptions: that the bill remains at 1,434 pages, and it gets in the hands of your member of Congress at 8 PM. Let’s also assume that there are about 350 words on each page
In order for anyone to read the entire bill in 13 hours, they’d have to start the very minute they got it and read over 1.8 pages a minute every minute, without a break. They’ll be clocking in at a reading speed of 640.5 words per minute at that rate. If anyone needs a potty break, they’d better take the bill with them. Forget eating.
By comparison, the average human reads about 200-400 wpm if “reading for comprehension”. You only hit 640 wpm if you’re skimming the text (and the top end average skimming rate is 700 wpm and the comprehension rate drops dramatically).
Now, let’s get a little sample of what they’ll be reading at that eye-melting rate of speed.
Here’s a sample page from the original Stimulus Bill, HR1.
Ready…..READ!
Okay, did you get all that? Including the bit about “sections 306 and 310B and described in sections 381E(d)(1), 381E(d)(2), and 381E(d)(3) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act”?
Do you know what those sections are and what they do and do not allow? Have you even read the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act? Remember, you have no time to look them up. You have another three-quarters of a page to read before your minute is up. And after that, you have 997 pages left to go. Hustle it up — 9 A.M. comes awfully early!
Oh, and so you know, that little section you just breezed through in 30 seconds is going to cost the American taxpayers almost 6 billion dollars.
Just know, as you’re at work tomorrow, that the Democrats will be voting to spend about $800 billion dollars without having the foggiest idea what they’ll be spending it all on. Oh, to be sure, they know how much money they’ll spend on their little pet projects but that’s it. They are taking on faith that throwing all that money at our economy is going to be good for us, even though they have no good idea where all the money is going to land.
Supporters of this bill have said that they have to “do something” fast. Well, that’s exactly what they’re going to do – “something”. I suggest that we stop them from passing this bill until they can at least tell us exactly what that “something” is.
UPDATE: Linked by Sister Toldjah who, by the way, is ever bit as beautiful as she is smart!
UPDATE 2: Linked by Jim Manzi (one of my very favorite people at National Review) and Paula (a very thoughtful new blogger you should get to know). Thank you both! And welcome to everyone from The Corner. Spend some time looking around. I get into all sorts of shenanigans around here, most of which I’m betting you’ll like.
UPDATE 3: Linked by Instapundit and The Anchoress. A Cornerlanche, an Instalanche, with an Anchoress kicker in the same day is a first here. Also, Mark Noonan links from Blogs for Victory. Thank you all!
Well, folks, once you’re done with this post, there’s more about the President Who Can’t Appoint a Nominee, a chance to see just how long a Presidential promise lasts, and a chance to kick around Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Harry Reid.
And if you’ve a few bucks you want to spend, feel free to do it from here through any of the Amazon links.
UPDATE 4: The Foundry has the final numbers. Congress got the final language at 11 PM last night and the bill was 1,419 pages long. That’s 2.6 pages a minute for nine hours or, using the 350 words per page assumption, 910 wpm (faster than skimming and approaching the top end of what most normal speed readers can do).
UPDATE 5: Did I mention I’m going to CPAC this year for the first time, ever? I am and I’m excited. But I’d not mind some help. I want to take video and photos and post them from the events but my laptop (an iBook G3) can’t handle the load. I need to replace it and it’s going to cost a few hundred bucks I just don’t have. I’ll appreciate any donations to the cause y’all feel like making. the good news is that if 20 of you donate $50, that gets me an excellent used Mac and handles shipping, too. So, help a blogger out.
UPDATE 6: Linked by Glenn Beck?! Well that was unexpected. When you read the transcript or listen to that section of the show, he’s using my speed reading number and the section of the bill I used. He’s also asking the same question I asked about comprehension. Thank you, Mr. Beck!
Tags: Democrats, Economic Stimulus, Taxes
Obama contradicted by business owner at his own event re: the stimulus bill…
As usual, Jake Tapper is doing the work most MSM journalists will not (video is also at that link, or click here):
EAST PEORIA, ILL. — President Obama today repeated the claim we asked about yesterday at the press briefing that Jim Owens, the CEO…
[...] Getting down to business, let’s talk about the stimulus bill, which was crafted behind closed doors – I mean really closed, even to the Republican committee members – which has grown to over 1,400 pages and may still be growing, and which, as of 7:00 Eastern Standard Time, was yet to be distributed to Republican Congressmen, let alone posted for public review. With a vote tentatively set to begin at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, not only is the public being denied the opportunity to review this gargantuan piece of legislation, but so are the legislators who will be voting on it. [...]
[...] Other Bill Published February 13, 2009 Uncategorized Maybe this guy’s math needs checking. And isn’t he discounting the fact that Washington is just overflowing [...]
I think I know why most Donks really don’t, or won’t, want to read what’s in this bill. To wit:
Would YOU want to read your own political obituary?
[...] PRAY YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS took speed-reading lessons. [...]
Where were you when Bush was pushing his through and oh by the way can you account for where the 1st give-away has gone… know it all? But then again its President Obama’s fault he has to make this decision… because we didn’t hear a peep out you…for about 8 years now…
[...] break 48-hour rule and give Republicans only the night to read the bill Pray Your Members of Congress Took Speed Reading Lessons : The Sundries Shack I’ve said numerous times that this bill is the Democrats’ Patriot Act. I thought this was the [...]
“Democrats will be voting to spend about $800 billion dollars without having the foggiest idea what they’ll be spending it all on.”
You’re far too kind. They know that they’ll be spending most of the $800 Billion on huge favors for their friends who have dropped contributions, bribes and in-kind favors on them. They also know that they will be creating plenty of jobs for their idiot cousins and the brothers and sisters of their mistresses.
[...] Pray Your Members of Congress Took Speed Reading Lessons : The Sundries Shack It is now 7 PM and the Democrats in Congress have yet to give their Republican counterparts a copy of the final Stimulus Bill for them to read. Steny Hoyer says that the House is going to move toward a vote starting at 9 AM tomorrow. [...]
Congratulations. You’ve been Insta-linked!
Okay,1434 pages in 13 hours. You know who could do it: Jack Bauer. With maybe Chloe helping out with some of the hard parts.
[...] begins. One night to read a 1,400 page document? One blogger reckoned they’d have to be speed readers just to get through the whole thing: In order for anyone to read the entire bill in 13 hours, they’d have to start the very minute [...]
[...] Posted by Harshaw Pray Your Members of Congress Took Speed Reading Lessons : The Sundries Shack I’ve said numerous times that this bill is the Democrats’ Patriot Act. I thought this was the [...]
What do you expect from the folks who gave us the CPSIA mess (another hurried up vote with lots of ‘unintended consequences’)?
If Madam Speaker keeps suspending the 72-hour rule between publishing and voting she might (hopefully) find herself in the midst of a revolt.
This is not an age to be a complacent citizen.
[...] Update II:Have you read the stimulus … like members of Congress … read fast. [...]
[...] An American President and members of his party cannot stop flapping their gums, and every time they do, more jobs disappear as they reveal that they are driven less by a desire to serve than to control. They are more interested in backroom connivance than “transparency”. [...]
Read the blog before you assume you know where I stand. I was against TARP too, rather strongly.
Well, they all have aides who can read, and on whom they rely for many of their facts and policy decisions. I’m sure many of the more responsible ones have had their aides read relevant portions, at the very least, and summarize what’s going on. One person reading 1434 pages in a night is ridiculous, but a dozen or two is perfectly reasonable.
Although I mostly agree with what you have to say you are skewing the numbers dramatically. You assume there are 350 words per page yet the sample page contains half that which makes it a much more manageable thing to read. (not that I think people will read it)
I would not consider it dramatic. I used a basic average for other legislation and legal documents I’ve seen. And that’s but one page out of 1,434.
Does that make it better, Ben? It certainly doesn’t to me. I don’t care what an aide’s summary says. I didn’t vote for that aide. I voted for a member of Congress and that is the person who needs to be fully informed about the legislation.
You know every politician at that level has dozens of aides and hundreds more people available to help with the reading and cross-tracking of all the legal implications, right?
I’m not saying they will actually tap that resource, but it’s there.
No one read the Patriot Act either, if you want a cross-aisle example.
Friday, February 13, 2009 – the day historians will mark as the beginning of the end of the Great American Experiment. God help us.
Great post, saddest thing is this bill will do nothing for the economy.
The mixing of a stew of disparate programs and purposes into one all or nothing omnibus bill is the real problem. We’ve seen this before; proclaim the bill as being for one purpose and then let everybody add their own piece of pork up to the point just shy of ridiculous.
[...] voted to break that promise to the American people. Clocking in at 1419 pages, a Member of Congress would have to read 2.63 pages a minute without taking a break to read the whole bill before the House begins proceedings. Meanwhile, it appears that select [...]
[...] at the The Sundries Shack, the magnitude of what is happening is put in [...]
I think Jimmie raises some very valid points. I agree that we should not be forcing representatives and senators from either party to make a quick decision that they are not comfortable with. However, not everyone will be satisfied with the bill no matter how long it takes to pass, and hearing from various representatives and senators on all the news channels who offer no other opinion than “this is not what I want” is, frankly, not good enough. Does anyone know where all of their suggestions are? Surely there is some information that outlines what the dissenters would like in the bill.
We have “supposedly” elected the smartest politicians in the US and they are working incredibly hard to provide the American people with a viable solution to the current economic crisis. However, as Americans we have also lost sight of the fact that our current economic situation is not nearly as bad as it was in the 1980s. Unemployment was double what it is now, inflation was at 12% and interest rates were at 18%.
I appreciate the fact that we are all under a tremendous amount of pressure to act swiftly and decisively, and none more so than President Obama, but I hope as Americans, we begin focusing on long term economic goals instead of short-term, instant gratification.
So this is news? The Republicans haven’t read a bill in over eight years. Why start now?
I would have to agree with Jimmie. I didn’t vote in their aids. Whats important to an aid, might not be all that important to me. I expect the Congress to actually read, and understand what they are voting for! Get ready people, we are now on the hook for over a trillion dollars.
It will take 3 generations to pay that off. I think a better thing to do, would be to get rid of the Federal Reserve, and just let the market correct itself. These people are going to destroy our country, while we are sitting here letting it happen!
Oh yea, and by the way, 200 of the worlds leading economists think this is a BAD IDEA! So, Obama is a LIAR when he says that the worlds leading economists think we need to do this. It’s a lie. Period. This is nothing more than a pork pie!
http://freed.newsvine.com/_new.....ings-worse
what does the average reading rate have to do with anything? Average includes all the idiots who almost never actually read.
I’m pretty sure I don’t know anyone who reads at less than 500 wpm and probably most people I associate with read at 700-1000 wpm. I’m confident the average reading rate of members of congress is well above 500wpm.
And why are you so confident about that? I dare say that you’re also very likely wrong about your associates. I’m relying on scientific studies for the reading rate. What do you have to back you up?
Ron Paul read the entire bill and so did Jim Rische Of Idaho and Mike Crapo Of Idaho.
Now you have a problem?!?!?!?
Again, I suggest that you read more than one post.
I’ve been reading your post for a long time now. I don’t ever recall you complaining when the Republicans did exactly the same thing. I don’t like it one bit, but much larger bills were passed under Bush with even less time. It’s always fun to see Republicans finding their principles again when they’re in the minority. Unfortunately, the Democrats aren’t really much better on that. But we should remember that this is a reconciliation, not one of the original bills. Nobody ever reads reconciliations. Well, except for Ron Paul and the late Paul Tsongas. Reconciliation is where the pig lips, cow brains, and chicken anuses get put into the sausage. You are either too stupid to have not recognized that in your 40 years, or you just suddenly start paying attention in the last three weeks. If this crap hadn’t been going on continuously since when my grandfather was born, you might have a point.
I don’t ever recall the Republicans passing the largest spending bill in the history of the country (or even one half that size) within 9 hours of receiving the final language. Hell, they spent days going over the Prescription Drug Plan and that one has a worst-case projection of less than half the bill that passed tonight.
You can rationalize it all you want, but it’s wrong and your defense of it is wrong as well.
What about the unconstitutionality of running the cencus from the white house? Wheres the transparency? Where is the new open process we voted for? Who really controls the White House?Nancy Frank Reid? Oh i meant Nancy Pelosi. Sorry ,bad joke.Walt
I’ve considered the “many aides” theory. It would take just as long, in my opinion, because the aides would still have to give, at the very least, an up or down indication on their section of the bill they read. If they know what their boss feels up and down about, that would save on time, to be sure. However, the time it would take to still read that massive volume of law split between many, and also the time it would take to indicate up or down, plus (and please forgive my ignorance of this process) perhaps even discuss rationale over the up or down, still leaves nine hours an incomprehensible time to spend this much money wisely.
There was one thing that President Obama did not lie about. “This bill will not be perfect.” You can absolutely guarantee that one.
168
I am getting quite tired of the “Where were you when Bush…”
At best, assuming you are correct on the facts and ascribing the worst possible motives to Jimmie, that tells me that
1. Jimmie is a hypocrite
2. You concede that Jimmie’s argument is correct.
Since I don’t care about people’s motives but rather about what is right for this country, such textbook ad hominem comments are worse than useless and are indeed part of the problem.
Oh, and S.o.G, since you “don’t know anyone who reads at less than 500 wpm,” do provide them with the excerpt above and give them 20 seconds to read it (ignoring the cross-references). I’d love to hear your report on the great comprehension thereof they will no doubt exhibit.
[...] a comment » Aren’t you supposed to READ the bill before you VOTE on it?: “Hey, it’s only our country that is at stake. No [...]
[...] voted to break that promise to the American people. Clocking in at 1419 pages, a Member of Congress would have to read 2.63 pages a minute without taking a break to read the whole bill before the House begins proceedings. Meanwhile, it appears that select [...]