819,000,000,000. That is the number. Put a dollar sign in front of that and you get the amount of the stimulus bill that passed the House of Representatives earlier this week. Simply staggering. It passed, 244 to 188, with not one Republican voting in favor, and 11 Democrats voting against.
I've been reading the posts of my fellow Poughkeepsie Journal bloggers. Tom Kraft argues that its absurd that 188 members of congress would vote against this bill, and Jack Sine wants to bash Democrats. I'm more inclined to agree with Tom. Yes, there are things in the bill that I wish were not, but this is how our system works. Lumping unrelated things (like billions for family planning services, which were removed) into a bill to increase your ability to paint your opponent in a negative light has become as American as apple pie. I'm not defending it, I'm just living with the reality.
But these are serious times. There were over 100,000 jobs lost this week, and there are proposals in this bill that will help those effect as well as the economy, such as extending and increasing unemployment benefits, and increasing food stamps for families in need. Money isn't just being "thrown" at the problem, as some may argue. I hope that the bill can be compromised more in conference between the House and Senate, further removing unneeded provisions, and that there can be broad-based support for its passage.
Economics is not an exact science, and anyone who argues otherwise is misinformed. Economists make it up as they go! All they can do is look at what has worked in the past (or not), and try to go forward, and you can always find two who disagree. I'm not crazy about this bill, but there may be no good option. There may only be what there is.
"...Those Who Show Up" is a political blog from a left-of-center perspective, written by Steve Schultz, which focuses on local, state, and federal politics related to New York State and its communities. Reader feedback and discussion is always encouraged.
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4 comments:
Steve -- I feel so, oh I don't know, "dismissed". "Jack Sine wants to bash Democrats"? That's it? That's the sum and substance of my post? I don't "want" to. I DO when they screw up, and this bill is a screw up. But I also offer a proven solution -- proven by JFK, Reagan, and GW Bush -- to cut taxes on people who actually pay them, on business, and on capital gains. We don't have to print money to do that, as with this Pork Bill. It has worked in the past, it will work again. Even the POJO editorial today is against the Dem bill. And read the online comments. Liberals including the person who uses the screen name Fishkill admit it's wrong. The Dems justification? According to Pelosi and Obama, they WON. Is that supposed to mean the pork barrell's open and everyon can dig in? I don't mind you disagreeing with me. In fact, I expect it. But I do object to your dismissive treatment of what I wrote.
Cordially,
Jack Sine
aka SineQuaNon
Fair enough. I apologize for simply dismissing your post. But, I have to take issue with your comment that Obama and Pelosi are doing whatever they want simply because they won. I'm not a huge fan of Nancy Pelosi -- as a matter of fact, she kind of freaks me out. And I wouldn't lump her in with Obama simply because they are both top Democratic leaders. I wouldn't doubt that she is trying to steamroll Republicans to get her way, but I think that Obama has been putting forth an extraordinary effort to include those who disagree with him.
Mike -- The notion that passing this bill is better than doing nothing doesn’t make sense to me. I have looked into the bill over the last couple of days and here is what I found. The bill is some 680 pages long, so it’s unlikely that those that are voting on it have actually read all of it. One important thing about the bill is that only 10 percent of the stimulus money will be spent in 09, so what’s Obama’s hurry? And it is full of pork. Everyone who’s looked into it agrees. But Obama’s calling the pork that Reps (and some Dems) are hollering at “minor differences.” They’re not. The amount of pork is huge! Obama met with Republican leaders to hear their ideas, but put none of those ideas in the bill. In reality, all he wanted was support, not input.
I am not asking you to agree with me, just to look into the bill a little more closely. I can tell from reading your blog that you are not one of the True Believers and that you have a significant skeptical side that tries to look honestly at the issues. Give that side a little more free rein on this issue, and I think you will find yourself in agreement with me and the POJO editorial board.
Oh, and regarding the “We won” comments -- both Pelosi and Obama were widely quoted in the media as having said it. Though, I will give a nod to the possibility that Obama was making a joke. Pelosi wasn’t.
Cordially,
Jack Sine
I have to diagree with you, as I just do not see how spending all this money because Obama says we should will ever get us out of this economic down turn. After all, it was the purchasing of homes that people could not afford and increasing personal debt that got us in to this mess to begin with. Also, a a stimulus check to people who do pay little or no taxes because Obama says they will go out and spend it is obsured. It is these people that that got us in to this mess with buying homes they could not afford and increasing their personal debt by spending well beyond their means.
Just to let you know Tom Kraft agrues it is absurd that 177 Republican congressmen voted negatively against this bill, while only 11 Democratic congressmen voted against this bill.
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