UPDATE BELOW
"We’re not going to get relief by turning back to the very same policies that in eight short years doubled the national debt and threw our economy into a tailspin. We can’t embrace the losing formula that offers more tax cuts as the only answer to every problem we face, while ignoring critical challenges like our addiction to foreign oil, the soaring cost of health care, failing schools and crumbling bridges, roads and levees. I don’t care whether you’re driving a hybrid or an SUV – if you’re headed for a cliff, you have to change direction.The American people are watching.
They did not send us here to get bogged down with the same old delay and distractions. They did not vote for the false theories of the past. They did not vote for the status quo – they sent us here to bring change, and we owe it to them to act. This is the moment for leadership that matches the great test of our time. If we do not move swiftly to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, an economy that is in crisis will be faced with catastrophe. Millions more Americans will lose their jobs. Home will be lost. Families will go without health care. Our crippling dependence on foreign oil will continue. That is the price of inaction.
This isn’t some abstract debate. Last week, we learned that many of America’s largest corporations are planning to layoff tens off tens of thousands of workers. Today, we learned that last week, the number of new unemployment claims jumped to 626,000. And tomorrow, we’re expecting another dismal jobs report on top of the 2.6 million jobs we lost last year."
UPDATE:
Found this over at Balloon Juice:
I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one
of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner
plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference
would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split
the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably
figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.
21 comments:
I wondered when you'd get around to trying to defend this monster. Good luck with that. I know you're well-read enough to realize that this bill is a bad, bad hash of things.
Better to kill it off. Then we can create a bill that provides real short-term stimulus, without all of the backloaded crap that the CBO now says will make things worse.
Not to mention the Democratic wish-list of new spending that Pelosi is trying to force into law without scrutiny or debate.
"I wondered when you'd get around to trying to defend this monster"
I don't think the President is that bad!
I agree with the President that something needs to be done. But I don't agree that that we need to pass a bill that is encumbered and bloated with unrelated pet projects such a free government health care for the very well off, more money for government news outlets, and money for organizations that promote voter fraud.
All that stuff should be moved to another bill or bills, so we end up with a "stimpak" that does a better job of living up to that designation.
Ack! Quoted out of context! Isn't that just like a right-winger...um...never mind.
I for one was glad to see Obama get fired up last night!
I was waiting for him to realize that he is the President. I think the first couple of weeks he had not adjusted to a new reality and was attempting to be President while thinking like a senator, with their focus on compromise and getting along...
He showed signs of growing into the position last night.
I'm intelligent enough to know that I'm not intelligent enough to comment on economic woes and fixes that are, clearly, beyond my scope of knowledge and are beyond anything we've ever seen in our lifetimes. I wish you all would concede the same.
I'm intelligent enough to know that I'm not intelligent enough to comment on economic woes and fixes that are, clearly, beyond my scope of knowledge and are beyond anything we've ever seen in our lifetimes. I wish you all would concede the same.--Anonymous
My sentiments, Anon.
The Republicans remind me of the people on the Titanic who were rearranging the deck chairs while the ship was sinking.
This package is not perfect. But it's better than fiddling while Rome burns.
And as Pres. Obama said, "They got us into this situation."
Criticism and finding fault is the easiest thing to do in the world.
That's why there are more critics out there than there are doers.
I certainly wouldn't listen to the group of people who got us into this situation.
Come on Democrats and show some spine.
Who in the f**k cares at this moment in time what Weepy John Boehner or Mitch McConnell think about anything? The Republicans in congress and their supporters here will kvetch, wring their hands and bemoan the collapse of 'democracy' REGARDLESS of how the final bill reads.
So get on with it.
Economics really isn't all that complicated and George Bush Sr was right in 1979 when he called supply side economics 'voodoo economics' which of course no conservative wants to acknowledge today.
You got to spend money to make money...its that simple.
When you have been skewering the tax rates to favor the rich and then one day you wake up and your economy is in the tank and your debt is higher than it has ever been it doesn't take much in economics training to figure out that something did not work.
Most likely you need to retrace your steps to 1980 and go down the other path....and you might want to hurry up and get moving...we have to make up for 20 years of heading down the wrong path...
"Enjoy":
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/opinion/06krugman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
The hostess with the mostess: "
This package is not perfect. But it's better than fiddling while Rome burns."
Shaw, the whole point is that it's NOT better than doing nothing. It's borrowing a trillion dollars we don't have. It increases non-defense discretionary permanent spending by 80 percent. No debate, no amendments; take it or leave it.
Most of the spending is delayed--which means it's going to hit when the economy would naturally be recovering. That spending will drag down the economy just when we need that capital for investment.
And what if another stimulus is needed down the road--say, in the fall? Are we gonna get another trillion then? More bike trails and handouts to ACORN?
Want to have a limited, immediate stimulus? Fine. We'll go for that.
But don't run around preaching doom and disaster as an excuse to shove a bunch of new government programs and half-million dollar dog parks down our throats.
But wait...
There's more. A conservative viewpoint.
Michelle Malkin, Glenn Reynolds & Joe the Plumber (!!???!!) 'discuss' the economic stimulus.
This is NOT Saturday night Live
http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=video&media-id=4522&video-id=1320&video-title=Conservatism_20%3A_Joe%2C_Obama_Appointments_and_Stimulus_Fund&series-name=PJTV_Daily_
Gordon illustrates my point perfectly; that the unknowing should not be weighing in on the unknown. Gordon, you make me want to scream; handouts to ACORN?? No. Again with the lack of fact-checking. Oy. That portion of the bill would allow groups like and including ACORN to apply for funding. It doesn't mean they'd get it, it doesn't even mean they'd apply. Jeez. It's like trying to pick apart every aspect of everyone that may benefit. And BTW ACORN is a useful community organization. You and your Joe (aka Sam the non-plumbing, ignorant lying sack of crap) the plumber types keep harping on the same old debunked stories. It's exhausting.
Shaw, the whole point is that it's NOT better than doing nothing. It's borrowing a trillion dollars we don't have. It increases non-defense discretionary permanent spending by 80 percent. No debate, no amendments; take it or leave it.
Dear, dear Gordon-Who-Likes-To-Bump-Heads-With-Me,
Did you see the job losses today for January?
U.S. job losses accelerated in January as 598,000 were slashed, the most in 34 years, and the unemployment rate soared to a 16-year high, pressuring lawmakers to act quickly to counter a deepening recession.
"The economy is just falling into oblivion and it will get worse," said Greg Salvaggio, vice president for trading at Tempus Consulting in Washington. The Senate resumed debate less than two hours after report was issued on a package of measures to spur the economy that could cost $800 billion (542.5 billion pounds) or more.
Democratic leaders were pushing for a vote later on Friday on stimulus measures.
Republican leaders branded the proposals as excessive and bound to drive up U.S. deficits but President Barack Obama wanted a speedy vote to meet the economic crisis head-on.
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2009/02/06/business/OUKBS-UK-USA-ECONOMY-JOBS.php
Listen, I've heard from enough rightwing sources that the Republicans in Congress have been warned that if Pres. Obama is successful in rescuing the economy, that will help the Dems in the 2010 elections gain even more ground than they did in '06 and '08.
Don't believe everything you read on the right. Your ideological pals would love to see Obama fall on his face--and in turn, bring the country's economic health (what's left of the dying patient) with him.
For what?
Have you thought about that?
Hope for your country to fail more than it already has so that you can have Sarah Palin as president in 2012?
Dear Gawd!
PS.
Gordon,
Were you as concerned with spending during the Bush administration when he did not veto ONE spending bill (until nearly the end of his 2nd term)?
Were you out there, Mr. Cassandra, warning us all of the pork and pork in all those Republican sponsored spending bills?
And please, do not use the tired old "Bush wasn't being a conservative" excuse. Bush IS a conservative, as were the people who were in charge of Congress until 2006.
And every one of those pork-laden spending bills were passed.
Where were you when President Bush conducted his $$$TRILLION dollar Iraqi war by cutting taxes for the rich???? First time in the history of the United States.
Which brings us to Pres. Obama's charge: They're they ones who got us here.
All of the concern by the conservatives for the pork and spending in the recoveery bill seems a tad hollow just now as we watch our fortunes circle the drain and head toward Antarctica.
When the future grows ever dicier and real decisions have to be made let's toss ACORN into the mix.
Good to get the conversation back to the real issues.
Thanks Gordon!
"And please, do not use the tired old "Bush wasn't being a conservative" excuse. Bush IS a conservative"
Yes, by any measure of it, Bush was a conservative. Except from the perspective of someone like Pat Buchanan, who is in the national socialist wing of the movement.
Could one of you self proclaimed conservatives show some integrity and just admit you don't want the Bush tax cuts to expire. You right wing fools had no problem with all the spending the Republican Congress did for six years with Bush's approval because the rich ones got huge tax breaks. You didn't care a ounce of ratcrap about the soaring deficit and increasing gap between not just rich and poor, but rich and average. I don't know what was worse. The wealthy Republicans who enjoyed the lions share of the largesse of the Bush tax cuts. Or the working stiff Republicans like Joe the faux plumber who's tax cut was maybe three bucks a week that allowed themselves to be bamboozeled by this right wing con game.
Which are you Dmarks? The rich one or the one that turned a blind eye to the BS Rove and Co. put out for your three dollars?
I apologise if the previous post was considered a personal attack that went over the line on Dmarks Shaw. If you feel the need to delete it on that basis I understand.
TRUTH101,
dmarks is a well-grounded person. he can hold his own. he'll defend his position if he needs to.
We disagree on most things, but we do so without ripping each other's throats out.
Everyone's emotions are pretty high right now as we witness some pretty dire things.
I am pretty wrung out myself.
I don't know what triggered that. My comment about Pat Buchanan?
Things are a little wound up around here, so I think I'll let this thread go on by. Cheers, all.
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