Obama's Stimulus Plan: Good Idea or Good Money After Bad:
Yesterday (01-08), President-Elect Barack Obama made a speech on the economy that he will inherit in just a few days. He presented an outline of a plan for an economic stimulus and recovery package. While the plan he outlined in his speech lacked specifics there were a few points that came through clearly.
First, Congress needs to act quickly. Our economic situation, according the President-Elect, is dire, and it requires urgent and immediate action. The U.S. economy lost 2.6 million jobs last year and we have not reached bottom yet. Without quick action, this recession may last for years and perhaps soon reach a point where a recovery will be all but impossible.
Second, the economic plan Obama outlined includes a substantial middle-class tax cut, government spending on infrastructure development and repair, and push to develop jobs in the energy and environmental industries. The key focus, Obama says, is job development. Government will have to provide the incentive for industry to create the jobs that will pull us out of pit onto which we have fallen.
Third, Obama says, there will be no (that’s zero) earmarks in this appropriations bill. He did not say he would try to end earmarks altogether, but he will not allow them in this bill. Once again, the main focus is job creation. Any idea that helps to create jobs is a go. If it does not create jobs, save it for another time.
Given the President-Elect’s outline what should Congress do?
First, Congress should not rush pell-mell into passing this bill. There is a need for deliberate action, but there must be adequate time for debate and compromise. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has said she wants a bill for the president when he takes office January 20th. There is no need for that sort of rush. If Congress can get a bill to the President by President’s day in February, that would certainly be soon enough.
Second, the Democratic majority in congress should treat the views of the Republican majority fairly. There have been a number of hearings, in both the Senate and House, about the need for a stimulus package. And there is a powerful agreement that we do need one. We don’t need any more on that subject. What we do need is hearings that work out in detail just what the dollar amounts will be, just what will be the mix of tax cuts vs. spending proposals, and exactly what will be the specific components of the package.
So far Obama seems to have hit the right note. He’s getting criticism from both sides of the debate. Conservatives like the proposed tax cuts, but are appalled by the total price tag of the package. Obama’s people have put forward a ballpark figure of about $800 billion. On the other side, liberals say the total is way to low for what is needed and they are not happy with the tax cuts Obama has proposed. I guess if you are getting criticism from the extremes on both sides, you are probably doing something right.
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I was not in favor of Bush's 700 billion stimulus package nor am I in favor of Obama's upcoming 800 billion stimulus package.
Some one needs to take the check book away from these dumbasses before my children's children end up being born into indentured servitude.
I was not in favor of Bush's 700 billion stimulus package nor am I in favor of Obama's upcoming 800 billion stimulus package.
Some one needs to take the check book away from these dumb asses before my children's children end up being born into indentured servitude.
I may be wrong about this but,
I thought the 700 Billion was a Bailout. Not a stimulus package.
Agreeing with Richard, 700,000,000.000.00
(wow a lot of zeros) If giving to the consumers with limitations on how spent, most of the money could have paid off the homes that were foreclosed on, paid for schooling, & paid off loans. Allowing many to be dept free. Now those individuals could have that money to raise our economy,putting in back in raising the much needed monies the retailers say they have lost. I do not see how retailers say they have lost money, they are only comparing the money they have collected from the past. Everyone seems to be returning to square one, if they really do not need it. They now are not consuming as much. Everyone is holding their money mainly because they do not know where the tax base will end up, not wanting to loose so much they have worked most their adult life to get. American have been allowed to live beyond their means for so long, it has to return to, if you want it, save for it. Everyone do as matured generations did save so you have a true respect for what you worked for to have.
It is not length of life, but depth of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
How a Man plays the game shows something of his character
How he loses shows all of it..
Hi Richard and TotalMayhem... Thanks for the comments.
Well, it seems Obama's plan is a bit different than was Bush's plan. That's not to say Obama's plan will work any better. Obama's idea is to focus on job creation. If that succeeds (a bit "if" here), the economy will improve. He says his play will gererate 3 million jobs over the next year or so. That will catch us up with the jobs we lost in the last two years.
Bob,
Sorry but I dont see any "real" difference between the two.
Both the Bush & Obama plans have the .gov spending more money than it takes in & this is not a problem that the .gov can "print it's way out of".
It is not length of life, but depth of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
How a Man plays the game shows something of his character
How he loses shows all of it..
The bailout money should have gone to the middeclass consumers, the true economic stimulators. All that money going to the banks will make their books look good but thats about it. All their doing now is throwing paper into a blast furnace. Financial regulation is needed also,20% intrest on plastic money is freakn. rediculous. But people saying "yea, I want that" is just as rediculous. Some people use a gun to commit a crime, others use a pen. Who do the banks plan on loaning their money to? Unemployed Americans? Who is going to buy the cars? Unemployed Americans? A self regulating free market is an illusion,were in this fix because we fail to see that. The financial world/wall street had a case of profit intoxication, now its hangover time. Imo, we were foolish to assume we could operate an open ended linear economy indefinitly in a world that has finite markets/resources. Over the past 100yrs, we have built machines to do most of our work, and now were scratchn' our heads wondering why many don't and probably won't have a job.
the hardest part of doing nothing, is knowing when your done.
Right Richard... We cannot print our way out of this problem... So let's hope something in Obama's plan works.
Total Mayhem and Spacemonkey... There is some releif for homeowners and the middle class in Obama's plan. We don't know exactly what it will look like yet, because the details must be negotiated in congress and with Obama's people when he takes office. I'm with you all. I just hope what they do helps, we need it.
Bob,
Hope it works?
No-one (not even the .gov under the leadership of an Obama administration) can spend more money than they take in, year after year, decade after decade.
Bob,
I hope somethings done. We set here waiting from what we are told are highly educated individuals, solution solvers ?
Then the spending & printing of money continues driving our dollar to an all time low.
It is not length of life, but depth of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
How a Man plays the game shows something of his character
How he loses shows all of it..
Credit is the problem in this country, and probably the world, that needs to be addressed. You can never borrow your way out of debt. You can not continue to spend more money then you have and borrow the difference before eventually you can not afford to make the payments on the debt.
There are a million reasons not to do something, you just need to find the one reason to do it.