I'm hard-pressed to believe that just another $100 billion in stimulus is the difference between recovery and grass huts.
This,
by the way, is the most pernicious effect of the entire financial
meltdown on fiscal policy. When $100 billion no longer seems like a
significant sum of money, it's time for a good stiff drink.
Yes a slightly cheaper version of the stimulus is about to pass. Here is some detail on the composition of the Senate bill. The final combined bill,as it will come out of conference, might be worse yet. And here are details of the new banking plan.
I realize President Obama is saying something akin to the claim, but do the Keynesian economists actually believe what Drezner is attributing to them? E.g. Krugman thinks some stimulus is better than no stimulus, right?
That is terrible logic. First you should look at what they are cutting (social programs) plus what they are adding (defense). But I could use that logic to get the stimulis down to zero. Whats the problem with cutting another 50 billion here? And then another here? What baffles me about these senators is why they want to cut anything? If were going to spend a massive amount of money anyway why not make sure its big enough to work. There really is no difference between another 100 billion or not at this point.
The $15,000 homebuyers credit is the craziest thing in there. Nobody can possibly know how much that will cost & it hardly seems like stimulus.
Now I just have to find someone with an equal-value house who is willing to do a mutual sale. Then maybe we can trade back & each be 30K richer.
What do people think about the banking plan? Especially the part where taxpayers wont know the exact amount of money it will cost for years to come.
The sad news is the stimulus plan is just that its a plan and no one can guarantee it will do squat except add more to what our grandchildren will face in paying for the greed. Greed has brought us into this mess and people lost confidence in our government we all stopped buying when that happens, business’s close doors people lose jobs and the snow ball effect takes over, All the money in the world will not change the current situation until people start buying products again and that’s not going to happen until people go back to work. We have seen double digit unemployment before and have survived other recessions this one is no different we will come out of it but it will take time. I’m 54 years old and have seen many recessions in those years we always pull out of it each time we seem to lose more of our hard earned money to another government project, the biggest fear we have is fear itself as we are our own worse enemies and the government (both parties) take advantage of these times to get there buckets full of government hand outs. Notice how Gas prices are sneaking back up I bet we will be back at three dollars a gallon by summer why? because we let it happen we are all to blame for the mess we are in and only we can get us out.
4 all that formated lango most of us have no IDEA …but still roar @ the presidents…
Since the stimulus won’t work why don’t you save us!
So, one of my rules of thumb for for financial prosperity is “think hard about what you are spending money on, and if you are borrowing half of it, think twice as hard.”
Government and most people seem to work this in the opposite direction, borrow a lot and think very little.
Considering I can’t think of a single government service that I enjoy using, I’m not seeing my life get better as they spend more money.
The de-leveraging process is real, and the longer it goes on, the less that we can attribute the problems to psychological causes such as “the paradox of thrift.” A ton of debt has to be worked off and stimulus gimmicks aren’t the answer. Hard work, productivity, and thinking about capital allocation are the only solution.
The Sorites paradox!
“The sad news is the stimulus plan is just that its a plan and no one can guarantee it will do squat except add more to what our grandchildren will face in paying for the greed.”
Isn’t this a fallacy always propagated by the party out of power? Wasn’t the national debut in 1946 about 120 percent of GDP. It’s now about 40 percent, right? The generation in 1946 didn’t pay. I haven’t when I was a grandkid and then a kid that was going to pay. So why should I expect my kids will pay? Isn’t the point to grow your way out of debt, relative to GDP?
Personally i think it is all a joke. We need something better and bigger why keep giving companys money when we the citzens and tax payers see nothing. What they need to do with the stimulus package is give it to the hard working Americans the ones losing the jobs not the ones that have the private jets and the ones that partly responsible for the lose of many jobs. They need to give us the taxpayers a stimulus check of $200,000. Stop and think how much that would help the economy not $500 dollars thats going to do nothing we need something huge to get us back to the power house that America is supposed to be, not a crumbling nation looking for answers. If enough Americans would voice up and push for a package like this we could really turn the economy around for the best. The gov’t would make out like a bandit as well because if we all got $200,000 the government would spend 580 billion of the 900 billion, and of that 580 billion the government would receive back about 200 billion in taxes. Push for it and spread this message like wildfire before we get $500 dollars and a even more so slipping economy.
“Isn’t this a fallacy always propagated by the party out of power? Wasn’t the national debut in 1946 about 120 percent of GDP. It’s now about 40 percent, right? The generation in 1946 didn’t pay. I haven’t when I was a grandkid and then a kid that was going to pay. So why should I expect my kids will pay? Isn’t the point to grow your way out of debt, relative to GDP?”
That may be the case right now, but in the not too distant future the unfunded liabilities of Soc Sec and Medicare will grow that percentage thru the roof. This would be an ideal time to let bad businesses die like they deserve so that the economy can get on a real footing (not one based on leverage). Real prosperity along with responsible government policy (such as don’t spend more than you take in) might give us a chance. Alas- it ain’t gonna happen.
Spend, spend, spend got us into this mess, but it sure in the heck won’t get us out. The stimulus package as is, is a farce. Pelosi promised on national TV “NO PORK”. Yet, here we go again. A stimulus package should be just that. PLEASE DEMS, remove the pet pork projects. Show some bi-partisan willingness. We don’t need more of the same old same old. Obama, you promised change. NOW DELIVER!!
Considering I can’t think of a single government service that I enjoy using, I’m not seeing my life get better as they spend more money.
Someone else has probably already jumped on roads, water and air quality, electricity, sewer systems, and fire and police protection, but I’ll add this: government-funded research created the Internet, and the government-regulated communications industry allows you to access it. If you don’t enjoy posting your comments, feel free to stop – nobody else enjoys them either, so it’s not like you have some obligation to continue for the sake of others.
Those of us who think that taxes for civilization is a *good* deal are quite capable of continuing the discourse without you.
I really love it when supposedly intelligent adults start spreading the claptrap media BS as fact. All that so called PORK in the stimulus is not fact, it was opinionated tripe.
There’s money for education, health care & service programs to help those that are hurting the worst from this economic collapse.
The last big bailout for the banks didn’t have all the red tape & scrutiny that the car companies had to go through. True, I don’t know why these companies don’t just work things out between themselves & put together on kick butt company.
But it’s all about profits not people. The elite wealthy don’t know what it’s like to be ‘average working class’ or the ‘working poor’ we have now. These CEO’s & their ilk get millions as a bonus!
Personally, I don’t think that they should be making more than the president. If that’s the hardest job & the most important one, then the $400,000 annual salary should be more than enough for these Wall St. profiteers that got us into the ditch we’re in. Hit these guys in their wallets & portfolios, see how much we could save if we make cut backs on their salaries.
Make the multimillionaire CEO’s & their cronies give back their bonuses. I’m sure their salaries were enough to live it up on. That’s our tax dollars & I for one would like it back as I don’t like how irresponsibly they are using my money. I’d rather see that money go to repairing & rebuilding our country, by fixing our communities, our health care & our children’s future.
Not redecorating offices, taking retreats & lobbying against the people’s needs in favor of their greed.
We need to make our voices heard now & if they don’t do it, take matters into our own hands!
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