Posted on 11/23/2008 10:42:40 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Facing an increasingly ominous economic outlook, President-elect Barack Obama and other Democrats are rapidly ratcheting up plans for a massive fiscal stimulus program that could total as much as $700 billion over the next two years.
That amount, more than the nation has spent over the past six years in Iraq, would rival the sum Congress committed last month to rescuing the country's financial system. It would also be one of the biggest public spending programs aimed at jolting the economy since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.
Hints of a hefty new spending program began emerging last week. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D), an Obama adviser, and Harvard economist Lawrence H. Summers, whom Obama has chosen to lead his White House economic team, both raised the possibility of $700 billion in new spending. Yesterday, Obama adviser and former Clinton administration Labor secretary Robert Reich and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) also called for spending in the range of $500 billion to $700 billion.
Transition officials would not confirm that they are considering spending of that magnitude, but they made clear that economic conditions are dire, and suggested that Obama might be forced to delay his pledge to repeal President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“Cut capital gains taxes to zero, slash corporate income taxes, cut personal income taxes across the board, drastically cut entitlement spending, and take a chain saw to the federal budget.
Voila! Businesses recover, stock market soars, consumers hit the malls again, taxpayers get much needed relief, and the economy emerges from recession.
Of course, it’s a fantasy, and nothing more.”
Why do we know that is the right thing to do, but Republican leaders such as McCain will not design and run on a platform including those reforms?
Bump!
I posted the same thought a couple of weeks ago. Most everyone you talk to “Well, the stock market will go up again, it always does” or “It will get better, it always does”.
It took a World War, two A-bombs and a Cold War with the threat of earth's annihilation (except if you were curled up under your desk) to get us out of the last Depression made worse by New Deal programs (which will seem quaintly moderate if Obama keeps his promises).
Woo hoo! 700 billion dollars of white elephants! That’ll fix us real good!
The money still gets to the banks and with all that spanking new available we'll all just go out and spend, spend, spend.
Woohoo!
And who cares what costs? Just print more!
/sarc
Thank you for that synopsis on deflation. I should have know the TV folks would use it as a scare tactic. Of course, I initially fell for it but luckily being a FREEPER I come to the source of truth and find out the real scoop. Thank you.
Except that the real goal of the Feds, the banks, and the Government is to keep American families enslaved on the Federal Plantation.
No, paying off everyone's credit cards won't do. But, robbing the citizen to give money to the banks so that the banks can turn around and lend back to the citizen at usurious rates...now that's the ticket!
This is so unimaginative... Another stimulus, taking from one taxpayer’s pocket and putting some of it in another? And only $700B?
Been there, done that... so there is now no HOPE for CHANGE? It is now officially a SAME ole’ HOPELESS Obama administration.
Of course, when economy eventually recovers, no thanks to the government “stimulus”, they want to take credit for it claiming “decisive actions taken on Day 1 of administration”. And al-Media will go along with the “New Better Deal” meme.
Someday, only the poor will own SUVs?
:-\
You got to be kidding. . . This is too much. . . Bankruptcy court is far cheaper. . . and in bankruptcy court everything has to be transparent and everything is up for review
On the other hand, in a global economy, there’s no Universal Law that says Americans Shall Always Get Paid More Than Others.
Unless Americans are being more productive, more efficient, more innovative, more high-quality, or some other category, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be paid peanuts and live in huts like our competitors. While the libs would like that out of “fairness,” I’d rather it not happen...but there’s no reason to think consumers around the world are going to Buy American just because we want to live better than others.
And with the way our public schools are, I don’t know that we have a great advantage over our competition. This could last a very long time.
From the article:
Republicans quickly criticized the idea of such a vast initiative, saying Congress should instead cut taxes to spur economic growth.
“Democrats can’t seem to stop trying to outbid each other — with the taxpayers’ money,” House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement. “We’re in tough economic times. Folks are hurting. But the American people know that more Washington spending isn’t the answer.”
napscoordinator, everyone can have their own personal opinion about inflation vs. deflation, and depending on the situation a case can be made for both sides, but the specific context needs to be looked at, and can not only be viewed in relation to the Great Depression.
Yeah the Great Depression was bad, but just because we could experience “Great Depression Part II: The Return”, that doesn’t mean we will get massive deflation again since our national economic situation is very different. You’ll be hoping for some when you see what happens.
With the Marxist Democrats plans for insane amounts of spending and welfare, combined with the “bailouts” and “rebates” and asset aquisitions by the Fed as well as just the overall pure stupidity of printing money nonstop, that means we are going to see inflation. There is no way around it, and the million dollar bill will have Hussein Osama’s ugly face on it, or maybe Barney Flame’s.
The dollar is going down. Then again, that is just my personal belief and everyone should decide the best course of action for themself; buy euros and gold, or save dollars. Whatever you do, don’t listen to idiots on TV or idiots at the Fed.
“I don’t know that we have a great advantage over our competition.”
The American spirit of freedom, innovation, and hard work are our advantages. I know the democrats want to take away freedom and hard work, and without them innovation will be difficult at best.
It also would include targeted tax cuts for working families, students, the elderly and job-creating businesses that Obama touted on the campaign trail.
David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political strategist, said the president-elect is weighing whether to let the cuts for the wealthy expire on Dec. 31, 2010, as provided in current law. Such a delay would permit Obama to avoid raising taxes during a recession.
Well, I'm a rightwinger who went to a local university, but I know you should have used "who" instead of "that" in your sentence.
Sorry, just kidding, couldn't resist.
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