I know the economic pundits are all about continuing doom and gloom even with the new stimulus plan. And I know Barack should have started higher at say $1.2 trillion and all that Krugman stuff.
But then I read about the success of the New Deal and how the GDP of the country literally turned on a dime in March of 1993. Wiki has a nice chart that shows that except for a little blip in 1937 when FDR pulled back, it continued to grow right into WWII [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gdp20-40.jpg).
This morning I read this quote from the Washington Post, and it makes me go hmmm??:
"The New Deal of the 1930s equaled no more than 2 percent of the
nation's gross domestic product. The new legislation represents over 5
percent and is probably no more than an opening bid -- Obama and his
congressional allies will next turn to the foreclosure crisis, the
reform of financial markets and an overhaul of federal budget
practices."
Do you think that maybe somebody (i.e. POTUS) knew what they were doing all along?
Looks like the Borg Collective (aka the Republican Party) has decided to go "all in" on this stimulus package. It's actually one hell of a bet. They are literally betting everything that the economy will remain in the dumper by the time November 2010 rolls around. If the economy recovers, their losses in the Senate and House could be devastating to them for many years and possibly decades to come.
It tells me that they have convinced themselves that the desperate move was their only choice. They are betting the farm that only by their unanimous opposition to the plan, can they even think of saving what remains of their party (and of course Party First, Country Last will likely be the motto they are stuck with if the economy recovers).
I believe 45+ House Republicans were elected from districts that Barack won. You would think that the safe vote would have been to go along to get along. But they didn't! Every single one has put his(her?) seat on the line here.
As despicable as the Borg Collective/Republican Party is, you can't say they didn't go "all in".
For those of you who still think the stimulus bill is a one-off, George Bush type bill, here's a story from CQ Politics:
Some transportation advocates also fear
that lawmakers will use the stimulus as an excuse not to rush
completion of a highway bill, which could cost as much as $600 billion
over five years...
But James L. Oberstar , D-Minn., and John L. Mica
, R-Fla., respectively the chairman and ranking member on the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said they don't expect
much pushback.
As soon as the stimulus bill is
completed, Mica said, the committee is "ready to launch a full effort"
to get a highway bill done both on time and with significantly higher
investments. He said the Ways and Means Committee has already begun
working on its finance portion.
For transportation
groups, the goal is to stay on message and convince skeptics that the
stimulus bill is merely a down payment on solving a much larger
problem.
"I think [transportation groups] should be
concerned that Congress is going to see the stimulus as doing the job,"
said Janet Kavinoky, transportation director for the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. "We have to keep the pressure on leadership to move these
transportation bills."
Yikes. There goes the 401k again. On a day the markets were begging for specifics, we got a whole lot of platitudes and "trust me".
What the heck were they thinking? The Senate passes its version of the recovery plan, Barack rocks Ft. Myers with Charlie Crist, and then Grinch Geithner comes out and screws the pooch.
To "overpromise then underdeliver" is not the right strategy to give confidence to the markets.
"It's too small. Too many useless tax cuts. Too much giveaway to banks and rich bankers. It won't work."
"It's Nancy Pelosi's pork barrel dream. It should be all tax cuts. It's government nationalizing banks. The only people getting a loan will be Barney Frank's friends."
Hmmm. Is it possible, just possible that Obama has it just right? Could we actually believe that this administration over the next four years won't be asleep at the wheel; that more help will be coming in the months to come; that this recovery bill is the beginning of the process, not the end? Could we take a small gamble and give optimism a chance?
With all the wailing and gnashing of teeth out there regarding the stimulus plan, people who believe that it is too small to do any good (the Krugman folks) need to remember one thing -- Barack Obama isn't George Bush.
Out current President is being dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing. He isn't threatening to veto anything. And when all is said and signed (hopefully by Monday) our current President isn't going to back to sleep.
This plan is a first step toward recovery--not the whole enchilada. Much more will be coming, and as the economy continues to deteriorate, which it will do no matter what is passed, more stimulus, including much more infrastructure repair (including any school construction taken out by the Senate) will reappear in another bill.
This is what Republicans really fear. Not this bill. But many more bills. And EFCA. And Universal Health Care.
This bill is simply the beginning of the end of the Reagan Revolution
