02-03-2009, 08:51 PM | #11 |
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Maybe the Rs can regain their mission as an effective opposition party; they do effectively and I hope we see more of it.
To answer your question Tex, yes, much of it is crap. If you support a stimulus bill...that's great. There are coherent arguments that government-created demand can stimulate the economy and bridge the gap the market cannot cover. But if you favor a stimulus, shouldn't the money be spent on stimulus and not on social programs already funded under the general budget or dream land initiatives? The spending in this bill is no joke; it's nearly half of what the Iraq war has cost to date. The price tag on the items Tex list above is about $19.6B. Dropping these items is not even 2.3% of the total bill ($885B).
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02-03-2009, 09:20 PM | #12 | |
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Why would you take the position that none of the items above "stimulate" the economy? Are you under the impression that paying for improvements to water and sewer treatment, for example, goes into a big black hole that nobody benefits from? There are a few theories on how to stimulate the economy. One theory is that you spend as much as possible, in diverse sectors of the economy, to lift multiple sectors rather than just one. Water and sewer plants hire people. Construction work requires people doing jobs. Those people get money rather than get laid off. You may argue it isn't the BEST way to stimulate the economy (debatable, and nobody really knows), but it is totally absurd to argue it has no effect on the economy at all. Spending of this amount will have an effect. The debate ought to be whether it is the most efficient way of attaining the desired result rather than whether there is any effect at all. |
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02-03-2009, 09:23 PM | #13 |
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Dramatically increasing pay for guys who build roads, and increasing their numbers, is going to give America an edge that other nations will be sorely jealous of.
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02-03-2009, 09:29 PM | #14 | |
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As I mentioned, the idea is to lift multiple sectors of the economy, not just one. That is why there is a lot of spending for R&D as well. Again, whether or not this bill makes sense is one debate, but Tex's statement that none of the spending he listed does anything to stimulate the economy reflects a deep lack of understanding of economics. |
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02-03-2009, 09:33 PM | #15 |
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I'm sure the massive delays due to highway and street construction will do wonders for the economy.
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02-03-2009, 09:34 PM | #16 | |
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President Obama's top economic adviser last summer...
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02-03-2009, 09:38 PM | #17 |
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The New Deal didn't end the Great Depression. And if we're going to bring up the '30s, why is the WH supporting Buy American provisions in the bill? Do they know the history of the Depression?
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02-03-2009, 09:41 PM | #18 |
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Why doesn't the govt. buy a million cars from GM / Chrysler / Ford and have Oprah give them away, one at a time?
Last edited by MikeWaters; 02-03-2009 at 09:45 PM. |
02-03-2009, 09:46 PM | #19 | |
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02-03-2009, 09:51 PM | #20 | |
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John Maynard Keynes
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If the WH wants to underwrite a generation of social programs it should be done in a different bill.
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