Posted 01-30-2009 at 01:36 PM by greenfaucet.com
By John C. Lee, greenfaucet.com
$102 B - Unemployment/food stamps
$42 B - Highway/rail/mass transit
$211 B - State gov't aid
$70 B - Healthcare/education/environment
$110 B - Business tax benefits
$165 B - Individual tax benefits
$119 B - "Other"
$819 B - Total
What is the "other" and why is only 5% of the bill going to the much-hyped infrastructure improvement program?
What is this package supposed to stimulate? If the housing crisis has caused this free-fall, and if banks (major culprits in the whole problem!) are not letting credit flow, and if jobs are thus disappearing, then wouldn't it make sense for the whole stimulus package to focus on turning the housing crisis around, freeing up credit, and either creating new employment or funding unemployment better.
David Axelrod (2.6.08), when confronted by Campbell Brown on 600 million dollars in the stimulus package going to Philippino veterans, he poopooed the spending as not even noteworthy in light of 850 billion dollars. What?!? Who is he kidding? Does he think Americans are stupid? I can think of better ways to use 600 million dollars to stimulate the economy and stop this job-loss freefall.
How much of the state aid will actually go towards stemming job loss and getting money spent. Keep teachers, police, firefighters and city utility people on the job. Maybe some money will go towards them.
I like the idea of hiring lots of construction workers for projects that will take years to complete. Too bad only $42 billion is going to them, since some engineers are saying we need two trillion to get things just up to code.
What good are tax breaks if the government is spending record numbers of money...wouldn't they want to keep revenue cycling back in? Or, are the tax breaks specially designed to stimulate the economy? Like taxes affecting property/housing issues? Or losing the death tax and estate taxes? Or how about reducing income taxes? Oh wait, that makes too much sense.
And 119 billion for "other"? Totally unacceptable. Shouldn't every dollar go to obvious, blatant, job creation/credit flow/housing recovery? And money to digitize medical records? As part of the stimulus package?
Come on Obama...focus man! Focus!
2 comments:
Stimulus bill = spending bill, did you see Obama's speech in Williamsburg? On average, a recession lasts 18 months, and if this one would have lasted the average, we only had until this summer. Yet again, the original problem hasn't been addressed in this bill. It's so typical of the federal government to try and solve the consequences rather than attempt to solve the root problem. Somehow, the foreclosure tide will still have to be stemmed. And, the public will have to deal with companies that won't operate in a responsible manner because they weren't allowed to fail.
I didn't see the speech. Politically, I think the stimulus package is becoming a albatross. No matter how they spin it, the Democrats have put to much pork in it. Obama said that he wanted to focus, focus like a laser on the problem. Too bad Pelosi and Reid aren't listening.
We don't need big banks. We don't need big mortgage companies. We need effective ones that have a system of checks and balances against abuse. If that kind of system curbs outrageous profits, so be it.
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