In Weekly Address, President Says Stimulus Plan Needed to Avoid “National Catastrophe”

The Republicans Have stripped the Bill for Education,They have stripped the Tax cuts President Obama wants to give the Middle class,The way I see it we had a Republican President for 8 years And Republicans held power in congress for 6 of those 8.We have tried their ways Tax cuts, Tax cuts, And look at the Results! now the Country has Elected a Democrat President as well as Democrat congress. I say LETS TRY THE DEMOCRATS WAY REPUBLICANS BROUGHT US TO THIS MESS!And President Obama is trying to get us out!

Instant stimulus: Cut payroll taxes in half immediately and commit to cutting payroll taxes for six months. This stimulus bill is not stimulating – it’s sucking the taxpayers dry to grow government.
Obama is not working for us, and neither are the rest of the politicians in D.C. They are working to enrich themselves and their political careers.

I would rather take a President who is reckless about sex than a President who is reckless about money. Money owns sex, but sex does not necessarily knows money.

I would almost borrow a line for current thinking about government in general. Throughout the world. Take a real hard look at existing programs. If they work, determine not only why, but how to make them even more successful. Take a real hard look at new initiatives too. But only after a complete inventory and assessment of existing programs.
By not doing the previous, yes we do have the same old tired ideas which brought about the current world financial meltdown.
“The fellow that can only see a week ahead is always the popular fellow, for he is looking with the crowd. But the one that can see years ahead, he has a telescope but he can’t make anybody believe that he has it.” Will Rogers (1879-1935).

Did Obama go to the opera on his way back in from Hawaii? He needs to be impeached before it’s to late!

I appreciate Obama’s concern, but the reality is that we are going to get much poorer over the next decade, and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

Ted-
Stay in the bunker pal.

Goodbye ‘HOPE’, and welcome to the politics of fear. So what kind of capitalist society do we live in, when the Netflix CEO goes on record for “begging” the government to raise taxes, instead of capping pay?
And, the Big O-trash is now setting the KILLER of the USS Cole sailors free? The man who was responsible for KILLING 17 of our soldiers….gets away? And our enemies are laughing at us.
another day in the O Admin, another day that the US becomes a laughingstock, and Americans are less safe.

It’s nice to see a President that is willing to provide proactive leadership for a change. Shame on Pelosi and Reid. Shame on the Republicans. But go Obama, go! Keep them honest. Please remember that I lambasted Obama through the whole election. He has clearly proven my prognostications wrong. He is a solid, smart leader, and will make a few mistakes, but we are way better than we were a month ago.

Doing nothing will make the matter worse. Thank you Mr. President we appreciate your efforts you are showing now!
I regret to say, the past 8 years was a period when the precious time was wastage!

Jimmy wrote:When structured correctly, tax cuts do work look at Ireland.
By all means Jimmy, lets look at Ireland:
From the UK Independent:”The increase in the number of people declaring themselves insolvent was particularly high in Scotland and Northern Ireland – jumping 75 and 39 per cent respectively in the final quarter of 2008″.

President Obama said, “…tired old theories that, in eight short years, doubled the national debt, threw our economy into a tailspin, and led us into this mess in the first place…” Yet this current stimulus bill is little more than the Democrats’ “old theory” of just throwing taxpayer money at a problem in order to solve the problem. This has been done for 50 years regarding Education and look at those results. NOTE: And most of the money “being thrown” from the current stimulus bill won’t happen for 2-3 years down the road!!
Deny it all you want, but the Bush tax cuts were working just fine for nearly 6 years. They got us through the 2000-01 recession, 9/11 and the 2001-02 corporate greed scandals. 5 million jobs were created in the 52 consecutive months from Sept 2003 to Dec 2007. And they were working fine even when the housing market began its downturn at the same time that energy prices skyrocketed. Unfortunately the federal government’s interference in the housing market–specifically forcing lending institutions to lower their lending standards, and give loans to individuals who could not afford the loans–along with additional displays of corporate greed, came to roost. This turned what should have been a simple cyclical problem into a disaster. Instead of the housing market rebounding once the prices of homes dropped low enough, the result was the near collapse of our financial system, which brought a freeze on ALL loans. There are millions of individuals who are seeking to purchase homes–which would could have turned the economy around almost overnight–but instead they were, and are, unable to get their loans. But also small businesses and corporations were, and are, unable to obtain the loans necessary just to run their businesses. And so the layoffs began–and continue.
The original TARP bill was suppose to free up the money and allow the financial institutions to immediately start giving out the loans again. But that has not worked. Instead the problem still persists. Until individuals, small businesses and corporations can once again obtain the loans they want and need, this crisis will not end. Even should the bill create a million new jobs, unless small businesses and corporations can get loans they will not be able to expand their businesses when there is a new demand for their products and services.

This is just nuts. Four times Obama has been borderline treasonous.They just let Obama run from country to country behind a sitting presidents back.
The first time that (we know of anyway) happen in 2006 when Obama traveled to Kenya under the guise of a fact finding mission when in reality he was campaigning for his cousin Raila Odinga
Next Obama sends people to Canada to talk free trade. He denied it of course but we now know he lied. As a matter of fact he lied twice during that time. He lied to his supporters, then lied about denying he sent anyone to Canada. Its Obama. He cant help but lie.
After seeing he was able to get away with it twice, he moves onto his third crime. He goes behind President Bush’s back in Iraq trying to stall troop withdrawal so he could get the credit. Obama’s people were so brazen and knew nothing would happen, admitted it.
Now it has come out Obama was talking to Syria and Iran. “before winning the November 4 election, Obama unofficially used what experts call “track two” discussions to approach America’s two foes in the region.”
“Former defense secretary William Perry, who served in Obama’s election campaign, participated in some of these meetings focused on “a wide range of issues that separate Iran from the West: not only their nuclear program but the Middle East peace process, Persian Gulf issues,” Boutwell told AFP.
The Pugwash official declined to name the other participants, except to say they had considerable clout.
“We had very, very senior figures from both the Iranian policy establishment and from the US; people who have very close, good access to the top leaders in both countries,” Boutwell said.
“The Cable,” the blog of the specialist magazine Foreign Policy, said Iran’s permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), Ali Asghar Soltanieh, was “among the Iranian officials who attended the Pugwash dialogues.”

west coast messenger….are you blind?
we are “way better” now?
let’s see:
– the stock market took the biggest inaugural day drop IN HISTORY when the O took office
– the government spent 140 million dollars on that fiasco day, when 42 million spent on Bush was called extravagant
– the O is closing Gitmo
– the O is dropping charges against the terrorist who killed 17 of YOUR American soldiers
– millions were without power and freezing to death in Kentucky in an ice storm, while your O was watching the super bowl, with the heat turned up.
– the O wants to freeze pay on ceo’s, which means that wall street will lose talent and corporations will do worse.
– the O has made America look weak, by going on Arab TV FIRST and saying we are willing to talk, and then Iran comes back and says they will talk, but with “preconditions”
– the O is now raising fear with his stimulus plan
– the O has LIED multiple times already, with his “transparency” promise that wasn’t, and him refusing to hire lobbyists in his white house, but now he has hired…what…17?
– and 3 of his cabinet selections have dropped out due to fraud and corruption.
This has to be the worst 2 weeks in Presidential history.
How long will you protect your messiah? How long until you see that he is a complete and utter fraud?

Obama:Let’s show them that we are. And let’s do whatever it takes to keep the promise of America alive in our time.”
———-
Sometimes, Mr. President, “whatever it takes” means fighting against unnecessary spending to create a focused stimulus plan.
These bills were crafted without strategy. Four months ago, there was nobody saying the components of this bill were exactly what the country needed for a sound future.
Just doing *something* isn’t the right answer when doing nothing isn’t an option. We have to do the right thing.
The Congress has to be smart, because there’s no going back and repudiating their vote for the package once it passes.

“NATIONAL CATASTROPHE”
Perhaps the national catastrophe is having a clueless “leader” in office whose only skill is to read a teleprompter and spew platitudes–a man filled with ambition but lacking leadership skills and experience
Obama works for us and he is a public servant.
He needs to realize that the presidency is a real
J-O-B and not just a title with perks.
Obama needs to be held accountable and he answers to we the people.

You can play with the numbers all you want James, but there are many ways to transfer wealth. One way is to start a very expensive war and then give no-bid contracts to all your friends at taxpayer expense. Do we believe that all the money spent in Iraq is just gone?

As an American, I am disheartened and dismayed that Senators Collins, Snowe and Specter are going along with the stimulus boondoggle. The consequences will be tragic. I will do everything in my power to see that all three of these Senators are defeated when their terms expire. I would rather see Democrats in these seats–at least I wouldn’t feel betrayed. The American People and the people of Maine and Pennsylvania should be ashamed.

Obama spreads his fear message to the people and then goes to the opera: priceless!

Obama and the rest of the Socialists are playing on our fears! They lie through their teeth!
Tax cuts have a history of working, JFK, Reagan, Bush 43, All put tax custs in place for people who pay taxes and we came out of recessions.
The Obama plan will extend the recession just as Carter did!!
Obama pushed for the first trillion dollar bailout and it did nothing, they did not even spend it all! and now they want 3000 dollars from every American man woman and child to pay for there pet projects.
How does and of this pork package stimulate the economy, Eductaion NO, Democrat retreats NO, Movie producers NO please say what it stimulates and when!!
Not we need to spend money,
Give the 3000 dollars to each American to spend!!
or give a tax holiday for two months, which will only cost 350 Billion dollars
Using a crisis to push your socialist ideas Obama, Politics as usual!!

“The Republicans Have stripped the Bill for Education,They have stripped the Tax cuts President Obama wants to give the Middle class,”
dear angie.. the gop doesn’t have the power to strip anything.
Obama and the democrats have the power.
If obama agree to remove things you don’t approve of, BLAME HIM.
He’s the one with the final say.

I wonder which saying we are going to hear more from Obama; “I made another bone-headed mistake” or “We need to do this or face a national catastrophe”? The first two weeks I think “bone-headed mistakes” won but “national catastrophe” may catch up.

Massive inflation is coming
*******************************************
Does that have something to do with the air and global warming?

Last year they said: “we need this stimulus package to avoid an economic catastrophe.” You’ve never heard a word about it since and the economy continues to worsen.
I think those that keep making bold doom-n-gloom predictions about economic stimulus and charging the tax payers billions to implement it need to stop making predictions.

The only national catastrophe we have is Obama as president. He’s working to get government to take over America and he’s spending the little guy’s tax money on worthless things. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. What’s the matter with your people who voted him in. Are you brain dead???

Hold on a sec. I thought “scaring people” with talk of “catastrophes” and the need to act quickly when done by the Bush administration talking about national defense, was wrong and evil and using fear to get what the president wanted. Now the Obama administration comes in and the president talks about “catastrophes” and the necessity of haste, talking about the economy, and that’s the appropriate way to pitch the stimulus plan? I thought we had “chosen hope over fear.” This would be silly if it were not so serious.

If Collins or Snowe vote to saddle my unborn grandchildren with a trillion dollars of debt, my family is prepared to BOYCOTT ALL MAINE products until they are out of office. That means no more LL Bean, no Tom’s of Maine, no Maine lobsters, etc.

Elytis, I don’t know where you get your figures, but I would challenge your statement that the stimulus costs less than the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Your statement is contradicted by news reports I have seen from the Washington Post and other news sources. The Iraq war has cost an estimated 591 trillion so far. And that was over SIX years. So while combining the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for those six years might approach the stimulus figure, that is spending over time. So I think comparing that to one grand spending bill is apples to oranges.
And it does not change the fact that much of the money being spent here is in no way stimulative. Example– Pell Grant increases. I am a college professor; I know tons of students with Pell Grants. I defy you to find a single one of my students who would tell you that the additional 400 a year would be the difference for her between staying in school or not. Yet the aggregate of all those students all getting the extra 400 per year adds up to 14 BILLION dollars. That is ridiculous. And it is not stimulative– the students will not get that additional funding until fall at the earliest and so it cannot be spent until, say, September. And we saw how much help the 500 rebates were last year– minimal. Additional Pell Grant money is not going to save any jobs or prevent any of those students from joining the unemployment lines. It is such spending, aimed not at saving the economy but currying favor with traditional Democratic interest groups or satisfying campaign promises, to which I object. Let’s keep improving the bill,

He is not scaring People he is Right,Look at the Job losses in the last few months. Dittoheads stop listening to your almighty Limbaugh, A man who just signed a 38 Millon dollar Contract to spew his Garbage!The President is right if we dont act now things are gonna get alot worse!

angie:The President is right if we dont act now things are gonna get alot worse!
====
If we do the wrong thing now, things are going to get a lot worse, too.
Nobody on Capital Hill can even state the size of this bill right now.
There is no way they’ve even read it. I doubt Obama has read it. I doubt he has any clue what the spending consists of- because nobody does.
It was not carefully put together.
If it was, President Obama could use his radio address to specifically explain *how* this bill will work to create jobs, and why this spending is different than the kind of out of control spending he campaigned against.
He is only arguing against his detractors, rather than trying to convince us of the merits of his bill. That is a big huge clue.

John Nichols — a very wonderful writer who’s been an absolutely intemperate supporter of The Puppet — writes today:
“The plan is now more weighted than before toward tax cuts
(which will account for more than 40 percent of the overall cost of the
package) that will do little or nothing to stimulate job creation for a
country than lost almost 600,000 positions in January alone … In every sense, the Senate plan moves in the wrong direction.”"

Obama himself is a “National Catastrophe”

The only catastrophe here is obama. That’s change I can fear!

Sammy said:
The Iraq War has cost $591 Trillion over 6 years.
Sammy, I think you meant $591 billion. You are off by a factor of 1,000. Hey, even a genius like Nancy Pelosi could get confused by big numbers. Don’t sweat it.

By the way, the Iraq War appears to be going quite well. Iraq will be the foothold that democracy needs in the Middle East. 10 years from now, it will be conventional wisdom that Bush made a great move by taking Saddam out of power. Of course, Obama has stopped stamping his feet and crying about bringing home the troops and that we have failed. He was wrong and, even if he won’t admit it, the truth of his incorrect take on the war will be apparent in the next couple of years.

Concerned in OH wrote:
By all means Jimmy, lets look at Ireland:
From the UK Independent:”The increase in the number of people declaring themselves insolvent was particularly high in Scotland and Northern Ireland – jumping 75 and 39 per cent respectively in the final quarter of 2008″.
—————————
Hi Concerned…Northern Ireland and Scotland are part of the U.K. Jimmy was referring to the economic growth in Ireland, as in the Republic of Ireland, which is a separate country from the U.K.

Listen to Holman.
Educate yourselves like he has.
Conservatives like facts and seek them out.
Liberals shy away from facts because the facts will force them to revise their opinions and admit they are wrong. Who wants to admit they are wrong? Not liberals.

HOLMAN….
GREAT POST! Any Democrat that can deal with facts should read the post by HOLMAN!

2012 cannot come soon enough – please do not fall for Obama’s marxist theories, and please do say NO to Obanma’s stimulus deal. PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING FOR AMERICA!

Wow Moderate you nearly hit every talking point from daily kos, but you forgot that 9/11 was an inside job.
“Remember Bush and Cheney’s Iraq war that cost us 1.5 trillion or more when all costs are going to be added up. President Obama’s stimulus program is 500 billion dollars less than Bush and Cheney’s spent in Iraq! We never saw Sen. Lindsey Graham jumping up and down and pirouetting on the US Senate floor protesting for that kind of self-destructive pork. The same goes for John McCain, who’s jumping up and down like screaming most illogical and absurd things. Other Republican leaders like Kantor, Boehner, Kyle, Mitch McConnell were no better. Playing the same old wasted, tried and proven wrong, dead Republican politics. As usual they are misleading American people; they are pretending to safe guard public money and interested. They conveniently forget they are the ones who got us to this situation in the first place, that requires this kind of drastic measures. These Republicans are an insult to the intelligence American public, besides they go as far as to propose the same fail policies. What we really need to save our country is a multi Trillion dollar spending program much larger than President Obama is proposing. Let the truth be told that proposed rescue/stimulus isn’t big enough. Just days ago Paul Volker pointed this out Americans. We know this is very drastic…considering the colossal collapse Republicans left behind! If we can find enough helicopters to fly around the country everywhere drop down bundles of cash it would be even better! I agree this is drastic. President Obama isn’t happy about what he has to do. These are drastic times; to fill the huge holes that Republicans left behind is going to take Trillions of dollars to fix. But under the circumstances that Republicans left behind, we have no other choice. What president Obama is doing is exactly what FDR had to go save our country during the great depression! These are terribly drastic times. We need drastic measures! US Government may have nationalize banks to separate them from the “good” “bad” and the “ugly” couple of months down the road. There’s 62 Trillion dollars worth “unregulated” insurance instruments called Credit default Wraps. When you thing how badly Republicans have mismanaged America is truly heartbreaking. But John McCain goes on TV mouthing the same nonsense that George Bush did, for eight years. John McCain isn’t smart enough to understand he has to move beyond the conservative mantra of “Tax Cuts” “Small Government” “No Regulation” “Let Marketplace Decides…” I can understand, a man like John McCain who doesn’t know how to use a computer, can he really understand what future holds for America. John McCain’s type of politics is over for good. The debate and the experiment have been ended. Americans have the proof of such policies and practice. They have discarded it. All that dogma belongs to the ash-heap of history. But Republicans have not learned anything it seems. For America to prosper and be respected and powerful in the world, possible when we revitalize America. President Obama has to prevent America from a colossal collapse, after all the years of poor judgment and damage done to our country by the Republicans and to go beyond to lay the foundation for America’s future. President Obama is proposing to do is what FDR did to save our country for disintegration. President Obama is planning to go even further and lay the foundation for a strong future in terms of healthcare, infrastructure, schools and universities, research and science, education and jobs, business and industry to prosper and America to be strong and lead the world. Who’s holding all this back? Fairly and squarely it is obvious Republicans are holding America from going forward by their narrow-minded, provincial and past-based politics. If Republicans refuse to change and adopt themselves to suit America’s future they will be left behind. And that’s already happening! Let’s move America forward into 21st century, but it’s up to Republicans to join us or not, they are facing extinction if they do not! “

For those who complain about the cost of the War in Iraq, one could also make the case that spending tens of billions of dollars prosecuting and incarcerating individuals for drug possession and usage is a waste of time and money. In fact, there must be a trillion dollars spent every year enforcing all criminal laws. Is this a waste of money?

Paige: being a master degreed economist working in the field for the last 15 years I can professionally say that your superficial analysis – while sounding informed – is the same sort of mass media rhetoric you hear everyday in the news.
I would suggest you take the ECO 101 class, work for the government in a budget office and a few other things like I have so that you can understand better what real investment in an economy is and what would be appropriate and constitutional stimulus.

This is a repeat of the 1930′s. The people in charge of our government are Marxists just as those who created the “New Deal”. Read The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. This book will make the hair on your neck stand up and it’s happening again.

The president has no clue how to be president.
I’m not sure he’s qualified by the Constitution either

Obama is a fraud!

The sooner the world realizes that Obama is in way over his head the better. Pelosi/Reid are now running the show while Mr. O. dances around playing big man. This guy has to go.

“Tax cuts and tax rebates only generate about $1.00 in economic activity vs. investment in Infrastructure generates about $1.59 in economic activity. If you are good with throwing away .59 on the dollar I would hate to see your ECON 101 grade.”
Cuts and rebates are totally different things.
No business is going to invest in new equipment in response to a one time rebate. The rebate under discussion would amount to $40 per family per pay check.
That would be help and supportive of the family at a rough time. But it will not change their buying behavior.
So Obama is putting together a package that has “tax action” in it but he is purposefully picking action that will not be that helpful to the GDP. Romer knows this and that why she has a multiplier of under 1 for them.
What would have been nice is to have seen some leadership and for him to have reverse two years of rhetoric and proposed tax cuts that would be helpful to investors.

Obama has become the “National Catastrophe.”

Right!
The sooner the world realizes that Obama is in way over his head the better. Pelosi/Reid are now running the show while Mr. O. dances around playing big man. This guy has to go. – Posted by: Bob

Jonathan
Interesting Post and you are 100 percent right, Mccain Or Grahm Didnt have Melt downs and Tantrums when Bush/Republicans were sinking Millions of dollars a month In Iraq!Now President Obama wants to Invest Money in America, something that has not been done in about 6 years. And those two as well as the Other Republicans are having Meltdowns about spending! LAUGHABLE. Well thank god Mccain didnt win with him thinking the Economy was SOUND, And what about when Mccain went off to Washington for the Wall ST Bailout no tantrum there REPUBLICANS ARE HIPOCRITES! PARTY FIRST COUNTRY LAST FOR REPUBLICANS

These Liberals are unbelievable!! First they cry out with the rest of us after 9/11 that we need to go after the terrorists involved. Then the Liberals turn their backs on the country for their political gain and cried out that we shouldn’t be at war. They then spread decent in the country by claiming that Bush and his administration is using fear to prop up the war. It’s funny how we now have a Liberal President in the White House who has zero morals and who is now using fear to justify the most ridiculous spending spree in our country’s history. This guy is going to destroy our country and way of live with his Socialist actions. This country started to move towards Socialism during the FDR days and with ever Democrat in office, we have gotten closer and closer.

Financial Crisis =’s Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.
Pretty sure those aren’t Republicans or Republican entities…learn the facts, dumb Americans.

James Danley wrote “That’s the latest right-wing assertion: that FDR’s policies extended the Great Depression, because a couple of right-wing economists have said so. It’s all fine and good -you can argue about it for decades but unfortunately you can’t prove it.”
It isn’t a right wing assertion, Mr. Danley. Henry Morgenthau, Secretary of the Treasury appointed by Roosevelt and one of the archtects of the New Deal testified before the Ways and Means Committe in 1939, a year after the New Deal had ended that it had been a complete failure. Here’s what he had to say: “We are spending more money than we have ever spent before and it does not work. … I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises … I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started … and an enormous debt to boot.”

Post fron another blog – “The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism,’ they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” – Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948

How do the Democrats spell N-A-F-T-A-?

Paige: in addition to the economic analysis there is also ample evidence to bear this out. Just look at the tax rebate “stimulus” from last year. We were told we had to have it or the earth would explode. Now you don’t hear anything of it and the economy continues to circle the drain. Then we were told the TARP bailout had to happen or the earth would explode. That fizzled with a whimper and the question: where is all that money? And the economy contiues to circle the drain and the circles are getting smaller.
Now B.O. ( that stinker ) is telling us: we need this “stimulus” or it will be a national catastrophe.
Isn’t doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results the definition of insanity?

SCARE TATICS!! SCARE TATICS! SCARE TATICS! THE American people are sick of hearing this….Pelosi all but said “Screw You” to all the American people when commenting on bipartisansip and how she doesn’t care if we like it or not the Dems. will pass the unspeakable bailout package one way or another (mainly to save her Assets in the stock market or what ever….Please America young, middle, and old take a look at what is really going on around us and stand up and lets be heard the we do not want this and it can not be crammed down our throats… I guess its going to take the whole true working class to quit paying taxes since its “voluntary” according to our new Vice President, to put these Politicans out and honest people in…..Please Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reliey tell us how the honest person can help……..

Gee Whiz! Mr. Obama you and Congress knew this was coming 2 years ago. Your Democrat Party was in control of the purse strings. Like Congress always is. Why did Congress do nothing way back then??? Is it because Congress wanted this to happen? Your Stimulas PORK Package looks like it was designed in the 1960s. Has the Democrats been planning this Socialist take over for 40 years? How sad it is to have to talk out of both sides of your mouth.
In case I’m close to being correct This was all a joke.

“If however the government did NOTHING then I would take that holiday and spend my money in South Beach and the businesses down there would profit…”
That’s if there are any businesses left by the time you get there Don.

Don:we need this “stimulus” or it will be a national catastrophe. Isn’t doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results the definition of insanity?
===
Yes. And Geithner is expected to announce his proposals next week that will probably exceed the amount of TARP money already allocated. Many economists expect the administration to request another $350 billion from Congress.
Let’s also not forget the auto manufacturers will be coming back in March for more money.
If Obama is on solid ground with his proposals, he will put them forward and explain them. If not, he will keep scaring us into spending more than $3,000,000,000,000 in the first months of his presidency.

I love that all the Democrats have done since 9/11 is claim that Bush and Republicans used fear as a tactic to get their way on Iraq and the broader war on terror. They hammered the Republicans at every turn saying they were trying to scare Americans. The threat was exaggerated.
But not the economic threat. “If we dont pass this bill, we are facing disaster.” Umm, fear tactic anyone. These hypocrites are using fear tactics to get their way on a spending bill disquised as stimulus. They believe that the American people are stupid and will buy anything labeled as change from Bush. Unbelievable that Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Frank, Dodd are the leaders we think will deliver “real change”.
I also love the “Give Obama a chance” line I am hearing ad-naseum. I guess Dems mean the same chance they gave Bush in 2000 – they are still whining about how the election was stolen from them. They never gave Bush a chance even after 9/11 when they pretended to support the President for about a week.
By the way, the only documented stolen presidential election was Kennedy in 1960; funny we never hear about that one – just George Bush, because he is so scary.
Please just listen to Obama and Reid and Pelosi – is this really what we are pinning our hopes on??? Clearly we will see another change from this clown and his minions in four short years.

I agree with the folks that are saying Obama should not have a stimulus bill. Eighteen days ago Obama wasn’t even our President. This man must have a few devils on his backside that he owes. There should be no more stimulus plans at all. The reason we’re in this mess today is nobody thought they wouldn’t be able to get all the money they wanted on credit cards. I guess it was a really nasty surprise when their credit cards were being taken away. The U.S. Government has been running itself on that concept too. NO MORE STIMULUS. Start paying your bills Uncle Sam, just like the rest of us are going.

Wow, So many young Obamaboto’s on the page. This is the mother of all PORK spending bills no more no less. Regardless of whom you believe caused this mess this bill not do anything but make things much worse. What happens when the Gov can’t sell the T bills they will have to issue to fund this thing? They will have to print money! Welcome to the 70′s kids with 17% + inflation. If you are lucky enough to have a job your pay won’t buy you anything or worse. Yea the “O” man knows what he’s doing all right. Just what Soros told him too.

Hey Obama what if you can’t smooze the Chinese and Japanese into buying treasuries. Then what lame one?

Hey Obama, I wore hip waders during your campaign speeches and now that your president i’m wearing depends.

The only National Catastrophe – is BARRACK HUSSEIN OBAMA AND HIS BAND OF GREEDY SOCIALISTS IN THE CONGRESS.
I hope the Trophy Generations are ready to say good-bye to having everything they want, their jobs and any future possibility of amassing any personal wealth.
It’s all about sharing now………..and that gargantuan debt will be the ball and chain around the ankles of future generations for a very long time.

Obama and congress……My preciouses….they are liars,tricksy, no real concern for the peopleses.

Don -
Housing Prices have plummeted by 19%
Homeowners have lost over 2 Trillion dollars in equity
GDP continues to fall at a 6% rate and is expected to worsen
Unemployment is at 7.6%, but most experts believe the number is double that due to outdated tracking methods
Dow has dropped 41% from 10/07
Business Credit has dried up
Bank failures and near-failures are common
SO….Your solution as a “an economist working in the field” is to do nothing and you prefer to spend your money on a vacation in South Beach to stimulate the economy.
There-in lies the problem. The vast majority of Americans are not as fortunate as you are and can not AFFORD a vacation, have NO money to spend and can not find a job to provide them money to spend.
No spending – no economy.

Republicans whatever it takes lets get rid of this man in four years. Please get to work now and all Repunlicans will help you. We don’t want either of them after four years.

After the Jimmy Carter recession which lasted roughly 1978-1981, the “change” that Reagan brought was tax cuts, tax cuts, and more tax cuts. In little over a year, the Carter recession turned into a Reagan Boom. Fixing a few bridges has never helped the economy.
This is the largest Pork Bill ever signed into law, Obama’s new legacy. He complains about the deficit he inherited? He just added nearly a trillion dollars to it, nearly 25% increase.
Our economy is not in danger. Inflation remains incredibly low at 0.1%, employment is still near 93%, gas prices remain reasonable. All we need are a few tax cuts and warm weather to jumpstart the economy.

@ ILonaE,
Thanks for your reply. The only thing most of the O nation knows about the 70″s is Disco Music.

Obama is a pathetic, pandering, platitude who’s in way over his head. In the same perpetual campaigning breath that he bemoans the doubling of the National Debt, he resorts to scare tactics to pitch his ridiculous, debt and budget busting Trillion Dollar welfare and pork package. The arrogance is unrivaled and it’s insulting and offensive.

“How can we make a ration decision without those facts and why has not our Representatives given us those Exact sort of facts instead of platitudes.”
As poet Kenneth Patchen once wrote, “I don’t want to alarm you, but … ” they say it’s not WRITTEN down anywhere. (Is this so “our” representatives can claim later, as they did — except for Democratic hero Barbara Lee — with the “emergency” Patriot Act, that they didn’t actually READ it, and they’re sorry-sorry-sorry but it’s the law-law-law?)
No kidding. If you watch television, one or another news channel comes out with dribs and drabs from time to time.
And you might read John Nichols’ — he’s editor of the Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin — “More Bipartisanship, Less Stimulus”, published today:
“The plan is now more weighted than before toward tax cuts (which will account for more than 40 percent of the overall cost of the package) that will do little or nothing to stimulate job creation for a country than lost almost 600,000 positions in January alone … In every sense, the Senate plan moves in the wrong direction.”

My husband employs around nine people-Obama supporters one and all. Until just recently, I hoped he wouldn’t have to fire a few.

If this is such a “catastrophe,” why doesn’t Obama show some leadership. To date, the plan is “pork,” not stimulus. And where is the money coming from to pay for the pork? The Democrats led the housing bubble fiasco with the CRA, Fannie, Freddie, and HUD so that anyone, no matter how unqualified, could buy a home. And now we’re supposed to trust the Democrats with a trillion dollars? Great Depression 2 is on the horizon. Hail Obama’s “hope and change” for the worse!

Clearly the new President is incompetent. We are in for a rough 4 years.

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
- Gerald Ford, August 12, 1974

you really need to understand economics, government policy, political vs. economic business cycles etc… before engaging in a discussion on these topics.
____________________________________
hmm… Just because someone doesn’t agree with you, has facts to support the other side, – you play the condescending “you just don’t get it” card…

This bill will do NOTHING GOOD for America, just for the Government…
It amazes me the number of comments that people make saying that this mess was created by Bush for the last 8 years…
It’s obvious that many people don’t know CIVICS… Congress has been controlled by the Democrats/Socialists since 2006… That’s where all of the spending bills come from… The President is the Commander-in-Chief in charge of the Armed Forces; he just has the power of a veto over legislation…. If you know CIVICS then you’d know that this is how our Republic works.

don, what started the ball rolling was Fannie Freddie endorsed by, I’m sure, your heroes-barney frank and Pelosi. Then it took off big time and yes, Repubs got involved. Don’t believe everything little Katie Courec tells you, do some homework on your own.

Let’s see this weekend Obama is at Camp David. Next weekend it is home to Chicago. Real Leadership liberals. How about staying home and working on a compromise if it so important! No it is much better and easier to leave town. Vacation days #1 & 2 this weekend and #3 and #4 next weekend. Love to be a democrat, 4 days vacation after 3 weeks of work.

There’s no catastrophe in the fact the Unemplyoment has risen by a mere 2% of the workforce. It’s all part of the typical economic cycle and quite frankly it’s long overdue considering that this economy has operated with excessive employment over the past 4-5 years. All the hand-wringers crying about job losses fail to mention the fact that wages are up 4% year over year while at the same time liberal econo-frauds like Krugman and Reich complain about stagnant wages. Grow up folks.

Typical conservative spew: “It’s cyclical.” This is the standard response for everything for which ignorance cannot explain.
Throw some facts out there please!
My brokerage sent a note out to the investors and here is what the Director of Research had to say:
“Market performance under Democrat Presidents has exceeded the market performance of Republican Administrations by almost 6.0%, and median market returns under all administrations by just under 3.0%. History tells us to expect better market performance going forward under Democrat leadership.”
And this is not from what you cons would call a commie-lib. So take that!

“Don’t tell me that Republicans are concerned about the budget!”
Except for their public pronouncements — as distinct from private practice — on abortion, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the parties.
“The word ‘bipartisan’ simply means that some larger-than-usual deception is taking place.” – George Carlin

Steve:
Here is a fact!!
George W. Bush spent more than a third of his two terms on vacation! 490 days!

“And who’s gonna pay? all the middle class that have been studiously paying their mortgages for the past 20 years or so.”
And cigarette addicts … most of whom are — go figure! — poor people.

The important thing is that President Obama looks clean and sounds articulate as he spends us into the crapper. When Bush was whizzing our money down the drain he was wrong because he was so inarticulate. When Obama whizzes twice as much money down the drain it’s okay because he reads a teleprompter with flair. Oh yeah that thing about Bush being a Republican counted against him big time too. My dog could fart a bailout bill out her arse and if she was a democrat it would be considered BRILLIANT!

People just don’t get it. If you believe only infrastructure projects and increased welfare spending will create economic prosperity, then you obviously don’t understand how economies work.
This pork-laden “stimulus” bill doesn’t help anyone other than politicians and possibly some construction workers and government employees.
What about the private sector? There are many unemployed software engineers, accountants, secretaries, retail workers, etc. Only dramatic tax cuts for small and large businesses will help stimulate employment across the board. Small businesses provide 80% of all jobs. That’s where the bill should be targeted.
The bill should also reduce taxes on ACTUAL taxpayers. More money in their pockets and increased confidence in our economy will spur spending, increasing demand for products and services and giving businesses reason to hire more workers.
Instead, this abomination is filled with huge amounts of wasteful spending Democrats have wanted to burden us with for the past four decades to ensure their power. It will only create a drag on our economy while putting us all in deeper debt. It won’t work. It CAN’T work.
The irony is I’ve worked two jobs to get out of debt for the past five years and the government is just burying me deeper in it. It’s disgusting.

Nicotine addicts-I was one and not poor by a long stretch. thank you Libs for getting me to quit-seriously. However, there are plenty more vices according to Libs to over tax… carnivores-shame on us- fat people- drinkers-carbon tax abusers etc. etc. Plenty more and at some point they just may target you no?

Sorry to burst your Obama=Salvation bubble, but yes economic activity (emplyoment included) is cyclical. The rate of employment tends to be a lagging econimic indicator…coincident at best. Considering that the long term average unemployment rate in the US hovers around 6% and that 4%-5% unemployment is considered to be “Full Employment”, 7.6% does not represent a “Catastrophe” by any reasonble and truthful definition.
Btw, do you think is simply a coincidence that the investment markets have rallied and credit spreads have narrowed over the past week?

“So, because the president says so, we should just roll over and sign off on this conversion to socialism?”
It ISN’T “socialism” — it’s corporate FASCISM, with a little barking about “bipartisanship” and impending “catastrophe” to make the medicine go down.
Meanwhile, the masters of the universe are about to distribute MORE bazillions, on Monday, to the BANKS.

“The Martians are coming,”
Thank God … the Space Brothers!

This spending bill will not prevent a catastrophe, It will create one. Not everyone out here is a DUFUS for BO.

“The Martians are coming,”
Thank God … the Space Brothers!
********************************************
But it sounds more to me like War of the Worlds, Part 3.

Reply to JV:
“Bush #1 = Bad economy
Clinton = Good economy
Bush #2 = Terrible economy
Obama = Good economy”
Bush #1 = Dumb move raising taxes – Democrats controlled Congress
Clinton = Economy got worse, over reached and lost the house of Representatives for the fist time in 50 years 1994
Bush #2 = Republicans is Congress started acting like the Democrats of spending like drunk sailors…then 9/11/2001. Yet amazingly, until the middle of 2008 we had some of the lowest national unemployment numbers in decades (near 5.0%). 2008 the Housing bubble burst – Thank you Democrat policies of giving money to people who couldn’t pay it back.
Obama = Carter 2; possibly FDR 2
The problem through the last 15 years… Big Government built by BOTH SIDES… It’s not a party thing. The President of the United States is the Law Enforcement Arm of the Government… Congress (Makes the Laws and Taxes) and their out of control spending is, and will be the problem until it they are STOPPED!

56.7% more jobs are created under Democratic administrations
The only time in the last 25 years that the budget was balanced was under a Dem administration.
The stock market gains an average of 11% per year under Dems, 1.4% under Repubs.
Those are statistical facts.

No a stimulus bill is not a spending bill….even though Obama figured correctly that all the drones would jump all over that silly little sound bite.
A stimulus package would inject some capital into the system for the short term while providing tax relief that would facilitate the formation of capital for longer term growth and is appropriately direct to the floors of the House and Senate without previously being vetted by committee.
Spending bills which fund controversial government institutions and unproven liberal-based ventures to the tune of $500 billion in taxpayer assets require longer and more in-depth debate and committee review.

I wonder where all these fiscal conservatives were for the past 8 years?
*************************************************
Actually, they’ve been visible all over the place from the looks of it. Physically conservative people are predominant in America, despite the proliferation of all the Bali’s and workout places and the tracks. This is really a physically conservative country. I think Sarah Palin sets a good example with her hunting and running for us to get off our padded butts and out of our velvet ruts.
Saracrats 2012

You party followers can bicker all you want and if so (and I believe you will), the drama will go on.
The truth of the matter is that it is corrupt politicians (including Obama) that are to blame.
Statements like this…
“if we don’t move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care. Millions more will have to put their dreams on hold.”
makes it seem like we as citizens can vote on the issue. I vote don’t move! Oh wait, I’m not a corrupt congressman so I can’t vote.

”
56.7% more jobs are created under Democratic administrations
The only time in the last 25 years that the budget was balanced was under a Dem administration.
The stock market gains an average of 11% per year under Dems, 1.4% under Repubs.
Those are statistical facts.
”
All skewed by the fact that Clinton was president during the ’90′s.
Being president during the productivity gains of the industrial revolution, or the transistor revolution or the wide spread adoption of computer technology in business makes you look very smart.
But its not repeatable.

A stimulus bill LOWERS tax rates in order to encourage those who have lots of money to create more jobs – ergo putting people to work. And, I don’t mean “green jobs,” whatever that is!
Drill in our own country, cut the tax rate some, get the hell out of the way – and the economy will right itself shortly! THEN we can start looking at alternative energy like nuclear! This bill is payback for all those who voted for the Self-Annointed One. And, I would not give one thin dime to ACORN!

The bill isn’t even written and Obama and his ### ##### are defending it. They haven’t even read the first draft, which runs into hundreds of pages.
Leave it to Arlen Spector to do his usual toadying. Might as well be a Democrat again, even though he is despised by them too. He will be defeated by a Dem in two years, anyway. As for Maine, why bother voting Republican…

The last 2 years have been the democrat way. Harry and Nancy raised the minimum wage as their first action. Economists warned it would effect the economy adversely, and it did. This is the Harry and Nancy castastrophe.
Education spending should be in the education budget. This is a horrible bill. It will not create real jobs. IT is a payoff to special interests.

Info for those thinking of sending messages to Senators:
I was able just now to send a “Please DO vote against the “stimulus”" message to Senator Feinstein just now … don’t know about the telephone situation.

It IS a sensitive matter, because it related DIRECTLY to the separation of powers provided for in the Constitution — surely this is a good reason NOT to forbid discussion of the subject.
This hoo-hah is more about His ego than about “national catastrophe”, and pretty much everybody knows that. But His feeling good about Himself over REALLY isn’t worth the generations-long price tag OR the corporatist precedent of ever more “emergency” legislation.

@ Angie: The “Democratic” way –to stimulate government instead of the private (free) sector — has already been tried: in Japan. It resulted in 10 years of recession. The best way, Angie, to stimulate the economy is to put the money BACK in the hands of taxpayers. Not bigger government programs.

We’ve been doing Tax cuts, and tax cuts for the past 8 years, how did that work out? The worst economic crisis since the Great depression. Surely, we MUST keep on doing it.

“The last 2 years have been the democrat way. Harry and Nancy raised the minimum wage as their first action. Economists warned it would effect the economy adversely, and it did. This is the Harry and Nancy castastrophe.”
The last 2 years have been anything but the ‘Democrat’ way. Bush vetoed and the Senate Republicans filibustered most of their legislation. Just Google Bush+veto and read all about it. Are you trying to say that the housing market collapsed because they raised the minimum wage? If you want to be taken seriously you gotta do better than that!

Psst…. Republicans, I’m sorry to tell you this, but a Stimulus bill IS a Spending bill.
I wonder where all these fiscal conservatives were for the past 8 years? They didn’t seem to have any complaints over for Dubya’s trillions of debt.

The democrats will use this money to buy votes in 2010 and 2012.
Obama learned from the corrupt Chicago machine how to use taxpayers money to remain on the roost.

Mike C wrote: “The only time in the last 25 years that the budget was balanced was under a Dem administration.”
And the Republicans held majorities in both Houses of Congress during the last 6 years of the Clinton Administration.
Mike C wrote: “That’s what a stimulus is, your spending money to jolt the economy.”
It’s not government spending, it’s the people spending that will stimulate the economy. Many people saved their last stimulus check. A one time check rarely works. What is needed is permanent tax cuts across the board. When people know that they will have more money each month, they will actually change their spending habits. As was mentioned earlier, in anticipation of Obama winning the election and the Democrats gaining seats in both houses–and raising taxes on the top 5%–many of the top 5% of wage earners changed their spending habits and began saving. Look what happened. Those of you who do not believe in trickle down economics, got a good taste of what happens when the “wealthy” stop spending.

“HMMM” again: it looks like the DNC’s suddenly announced that IT has taken over The Puppet’s online army:
“To build a wall between Obama’s White House and the political organization he built, the mailing list and his Web site … are now maintained by the DNC.”
This is sooo absolutely opposite to the “news” pre-Friday that we don’t know just how convincing the announcement really IS — especially if the Senate phones are closed.
On the other hand, if it’s in the hands of the DNC, it should be swift work to determine how many correspondents are on the “Obama” list …
(Maybe some brave news person will ask Darth Gibbs about it on Monday. :^|)

The only “national catastrophe” is having this neomarxist as potus. The people who are going to “put their dreams on hold” are the next two generations of fiscally responsible taxpayers. This pork bill is truly a Pelosi,Reid obamanation.

Ah Nid, I love how you guys fall back to Strawman arguments, when faced with facts. It only proves that I’m correct.

“And Marxist-socialist, big government control is a totally new concept? Change, that is?”
The so-called stimulus is NOT “Marxist-socialist” ..It is not even a “jobs” program.
Don’t get confused just because He’s not (yet) sporting a mustache.

Some people are deathly afraid that Obama will mobilize the people. The people haven’t been mobilized in generations, and when they are, its not going to be very comfortable for many who are used to lives of comfort.
I’ll tell you this: if the Blue Dog Quislings get their way, some of the best parts of this bill are going to get cut out. Anyone now who is against aid to the states is completely and utterly insane.
Forget pressuring Republicans, its time to turn up the heat on the DINOs.

Whenever the M-L epithet comes out, its a sure sign of guilt and fear.

The $80 billion blank check that is “aid to the states” is one of the more egregious elements of this welfare bonanza.

Although Obama problably is enamored of Marxist ideology, he and many of his peers are actually Social Democrats espousing government regulated mixed markets–liberal, big government Keyensian economics.
Also, although this stimulus bill is a spending bill, there should be a difference between the two. Spending bills are ‘business as usual’ for the pandering politicians who use public money to build bigger government and to bribe voters. A stimulus bill should ‘stimulate’ the economy into growth. Until banks start lending and productive businesses hire people to produce needed services and products, this economy will flounder. The stimulus bill should have the same effect of breaking the Great Depression our run-up and entry to world war II had on this economy. This bill does not do that. The democrats are trying to hoodwink the public by calling a spending bill a stimulus bill. If the democrats don’t know the difference between the two and the republicans can’t lead a grassroots rebellion, we’re in for a rough ride.

Obama sure know how to fearmonger when he wants something. The stimulus is important, but do you think that stuff like an “unending recession” is just a bit of overkill?
Speaking of killing, this talk may just anger the public even more and squash the remaining support for it from everyone besides POTUS Obama and Dems in Congress?

After an outcry from members of Congress, Wells Fargo canceled its planned 12-night Las Vegas retreat for more than 1,000 of the company’s employees and guests. Just think of the money that these 1,000 people could have spent in Las Vegas over the nearly two weeks: Gambling; three meals a day; and shopping galore. But instead the dealers won’t be getting any tips from the Wells Fargo group; waiters won’t be getting any tips from the Wells Fargo group; and stores won’t be visited by the Wells Fargo group. Las Vegas took a hit with that one cancellation.
As other businesses cancel their retreats and conventions all across the country, tourism spending will come to a screeching halt. That will result in thousands of more layoffs! Instead of condemning these businesses for excessive spending, Congress should encourage businesses to spend, spend and spend even more.

Direct aid to states in the wake of a true “catastrophe” is fine and good and econimically sound….a blank check to fund alreadly bloated governments which survive via over taxation is not. A rise in unemployment to the tune of three or four pecentage points and a rise on the number of foreclosures in a ridiculously overdone housing markted is not catastrophic….it’s a needed thinning of the heard and a return to economic discipline.

In doubling the national debt in two weeks by the amount it took his crazed predecessor and the Republican Party eight years, President O will bring on a national catastrophe – the collapse of the dollar and hyperinflation. The Federal Government is completely bankrupt; there is no money for anything save payments on the $62 trillion of existing debt in unfunded liabilities. The only way to finance this is to print the money. We are falling into the abyss of the Weimar Republic of the 1920s and today’s Zimbabwe. The astonishing thing is that this national suicide is presented as our certain deliverance. We are asked to believe that a fire can be doused with gasoline. The conflagration will consume everything.

Flash Override, in the immortal words of Sargeant Hulka, “Lighten up, Francis.” You are overwrought, and overreaching, rather like our President, prior to his retreat to Camp David. (Yeah, those first three weeks have been exhausting. Sounds like time for a mini-vacation. No one back in Washington he needs to be conferring with or comparing notes with or otherwise dealing with in order to develop a workable stimulus bill and get it passed. And then he complains about the symbolism of corporate jets and company retreats. Yikes.)
But I digress. You say that those of us who are against direct aid to the states are against the very notion of government providing for the general welfare. Oh, really? Giving a state like mine a blank check would be disastrous and wasteful. I have watched my state legislature fritter away their revenues in good times and have no desire to watch the feds hand them piles of my money to pull them out of the holes they have dug. Yes, helping states with things like unemployment insurance and other mandates in areas that are being stressed by the economic downturn is fine. That is not what the direct aid will be limited to. So I’m not pleased about it.
Many of your other comments are equally off the wall, so I should not be surprised to see this hyperbole.

Why should Obama care if everyone’s children and grandchildren will still be paying off his pork bill?
His children are set for life.

‘moderate’ I sense a strong whiff of cognitive dissonance from your direction.

Please explain how tax cuts are bad for the country.

Unintended consequnece….I guess you can force a bank to lend money to an unqualified borrower…home ownership is a right after all….even create a “corporation” to guarantee the loan (while turning your head as the folks on the front line lie and cheat to line their pockets)….too bad a day a reckoning always seems to come and then you have to figure out how to keep a roof over the heads of all those votes you’ve purchased over the years.

Nobel’s Three Amigos….Al Gore, Jimmah Carter and Krugman.
As they say, great comedy writes itself.

truth = Ron Paul

I for one feel the country is certainly in an amount of trouble not seen in the last 40 years but to continue to use fear tactics to accomplish ones personal goals is extreme.
Catastrophe, total failure, large scale disaster, a horrible event,utter ruin and great and sudden calamity. Not sure some other none frightening words could be used by the administration.

You’re correct Angie. It only took the full Democratic control 2 years out of the last 8 to ruin it for everyone.

Citizens of Texas:
Any chance there is some wiggle-room in that document y’all signed back in 1845?

In case you missed it….only about one third of Americans approve of this nightmare of a welfare bill….perhaps some are even Dems?

“Reporter restrained after Panetta hearing”
At The Politico
More “change you can believe in”….in fact, ignore it at your own peril.

No one can or will say that this stimulus bill will work. What will happen if it doesn’t work? These politicians democrat and republican are so out of touch.

Krugman’s made a career, and garnered a meaningless hunk of bronze, by distorting facts and figures to support a social/political agenda.

Several years from now historians will look back on the “Panic of ’09″ and realize that to a degree it was contrived, and that the proposed solutions were even more so. This crisis is being enhanced and manipulated by those who wish to exploit the fears and ignorance of the US public, as demonstrated by the first rush to “do something” with the initial 700B bail out, which has apparently done nothing, despite being so urgently needed when addressed last September. This issue of Obama’s claims of the depth of the crisis and his rush to implement a panicked response is based on evidence weaker than, and more intentionally manipulated than, Bush’s “Weapons of Mass Distruction” justification for the war in Iraq. The new stimulus bill is a Trojan Horse, jammed full of spending with no hope for truly correcting the core problem of fiscal irresponsibility. Mr. Obama, where is your scapel? Where is your presidential leadership? You are not leading Congress, but simply following their politically motivated and wasteful spending.

Too late! The “National Catastrophe” was electing Obama President.

“Too late! The “National Catastrophe” was electing Obama President.”
C’mon … His handlers bought the mob-friendly figure-head the formerly “Democratic” nomination, then the “election” (in which His “post-partisan” pal McCain didn’t … really … run very hard) fair and square, for a mere ONE billion, give or take, dollars.
So now … naturally … His masters get bailouts and stimuli and airplanes and ambassadorships and cabinet posts. It’s the Chicago Way.

Why a national catastrophe? Mr. President why don’t you and the Congress just level with the American public and just tell us just how REALLY BAD it is. Stop the dancing around it and just tell us. Tell us how your stimulus bill is going to do nothing more than just make it tolerable but in reality may do nothing much in long run. Your just grasping for straws

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” said Rahm Emanuel. “It is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”
It’s quite possible that the economic crisis, this so-called “National Catastrophe”, might have been, at least partly, engineered by insiders from the beginning – for the purpose of enriching the elite and turning the rest of us into government workers?

Obama is well on his way to becoming the National Catastrophe himself. The only thing standing in his way is Pelosi.

tjp612 wrote:
“There are many of us who were raised to believe and who practice a non-reliance on others for our existence.
“We believe we control our own destiny.
“As such, we do not make purchases (such as homes we cannot afford), have created safety nets (in the form of savings) in the event we lose our jobs, and have diversified our skills (through education) or have honed entrepreneurial skills to improve our employability.
“We carry little debt.
“We are in the best position to revive our economy given the resources we have cultivated.
“However, despite Obama’s fear mongering, see this ‘stimulus’ package for what it is: it is a spending bill and massive over-reach for Democrats.
“I, for one, see the writing on the wall and will be managing my money accordingly, saving in advance of expected inflation (due to increase in money supply), continued slumping of stock market (for many reasons), little to no chance I will receive Social Security benefits, and expected nationalization of health care (which will lower overall quality to the point only the truly ‘rich’ can afford quality care).
“Save up, America!”
Bravo!

Enough with the word ‘package’!! This is a package alright. A package of flaming dog poo that the democrats are lobbing at our front doors… wrapped in a pretty bow now doubt. The joke really is on us because we can’t throw it back before the damage is done. Please write, call, fax your senators and representatives, it’s still not too late. My Senators are Inhofe and Coburn and I’ve been calling them everyday to tell them to keep up the fight from this package of you-know-what from hitting our front doors.

Would some one please remind the Fraud-in-Chief, that we do’t need fear mongering coming from the White House. How soon he forgot his own words from his inaguaral address, ” Americans have chosen HOPE OVER FEAR” so shut up already.

“Keeping teachers employed makes more sense than building more prisons to deal with the drop out rate that we will be dealing with along with the resulting crime.”
Not to be a broken record but there is a difference between a “gee here is a good idea” bill and a “stimulus bill”.
Just supposes that hoping against hope that *this* time there is an improvement in student performance that results from spending more money. When does the increased capability of these children start showing up in the economy? 10 years?
The education funding is a sop to the teachers union- it will not impact the economy any time soon.

sngeorgia…
Have you forgotten about personal responsibility? Don’t people read the prospectus before investing? I do. The stock market is a gamble, if you don’t have the money to waste, do invest in it. You invested, you lost, nobody’s fault but yours for investing in it. Education? Are you kidding me? How much money do we have to throw at a broken system before someone says enough? The Dept of Educ should be disbanded and the education responsibility given back to the states! The states! Healthcare? The bill is laden with healthcare for none other than…. illegal aliens? And again, another personal responsibility problem. Since when did it become the government’s (that’s my tax dollars) to take care of everyone’s health? When? I don’t know what to say to the kool-aid drinkers, I just don’t. If you want to live a life where the government takes care of you, get a map of the world pick somewhere else and go there.

I spent the afternoon reading the Senate and the House bill on Thomas and I do not see the reckless spending that I am hearing about on Republican News Network. I am reading about jobs being produced by spending that has to be spent by the end of 2010 on all sorts of projects that have been identified as an embarrassment for the United States over the past 4 to 8 years. I am not sure if the Republican News Network thinks the Army or Air Force is going to build their own housing or upgrade their own hospitals and clinics. I tend to think that those jobs will go to civilian contractors. Upgrading the motor fleet of the U.S. government and military with more fuel-efficient vehicles might be a waste but it will move many vehicles and employ many people in the automotive industry. Keeping teachers employed makes more sense than building more prisons to deal with the drop out rate that we will be dealing with along with the resulting crime. I guess we really (and I mean our news anchors) need to ask for specific instances of this package that justifies voting against passage and how that balances against millions more of job losses over the next couple of months. I guess if the electorate wanted more of the same (which is what Senate Republicans seem to be telling us we need) McCain would have been elected and we would not be having this conversation. We are not even two weeks into and new administration and the losing party is trying to overturn the outcome of the election. That is truly the definition of loser.

@ sngeorgia,
“I spent the afternoon reading the Senate and the House bill on Thomas and I do not see the reckless spending that I am hearing about on Republican News Network. I am reading about jobs being produced by spending that has to be spent by the end of 2010 on all sorts of projects that have been identified as an embarrassment for the United States over the past 4 to 8 years.”
There is an article at CNN that shows $$$ cut from bill. It would appear you perhaps are reading the wrong bill (?). This is a SPENDING bill, not a jobs creation. Example of one cut:
“$4.5 billion for General Services Administration”
Is the GSA now in the business of creating jobs? Perhaps a few, but the jobs created would be within the growing bureaucracy and would not be of benefit to those who needs jobs most: construction, manufacturing, retail, etc.

socialism101:
The turtle was put up there by a terrible flood that raised the water up high enough to set the turtle atop the fence post. The water starts to slowly recede.
Flood is symbolism for Bush btw.

Is obvious that Republicans are hopeless, pessimistic, and ignorant. Yes, you!
Don’t worry, you’ll still have g-a-y marriage and abortion to rally around.

Now he threatens us and tries to scare us. Good show, idiot. That’ll really help.
What a loser. We’ve got to endure 4 years of this now.

Bush, Obama, Republicans, Democrats. Does it really matter?
Our whole system of politics is hopelessy corrupt – from your local city council right up to the President.
Yet, they expect all of us to be good citizens and obey their laws!? I say to hell with that!
Cheat on your taxes, disregard the laws, and pocket ill-gotten money anyway you can just like our elected class does.
By the way, your wasting your time watching the “news”. Its all propaganda ddesigned to keep the shell game going; Democrats, Republicans, Democrats, Republicans, on and on and on and on.

POTUS: Impeach
Pelosi: Impeach
Reid: Impeach
Geithner: Recall
Barney Frank: Recall
Chris Dodd: Recall (overturn the “sweatheart deal” he received from CountryWide)
Charlie Rangel: Recall

Republicans don’t care how many people are put out of work. They are why we are in this mess in the first place with the overspending and the deregulation and the failed trickle down that they are responsible for foisting on us all. So, now too, they don’t mind fiddling while Rome burns. They have theirs. These senators who are being such llth hour converts to being ‘pork police’ after wasting 9 trillion dollars since the year 2000, have their perks, their wealth and their privilege. They don’t have to feel any urgency. They can personally afford to grandstand and obstruct and play ‘get Obama’ politics with the American peoples’livelihoods. That’s why their party was turned out during the last two elections. They are making up for their weakness and unpopularity by pretending to care about the budget when they busted the budget for the last eight years. I hope we can return to the partisan politics of George W. Bush but do so in reverse and this time the Democrats can just rule without the Republicans’ consent like they did without the Democrats’ consent during the reign of error of GW Bush. Let them be kicked to the curb. They need it.

Hey JL:
Its good to know those terrible wealthy Repubs are being countered by John Kerry, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, Barrack Obama, Barney Frank, Barbara Boxer, Hillary and Bill, John Edwards, and all those other poor liberals…

everyone ought to go to usmayors and check out the projects that are ready to go that could be started tomorrow with this money. You can search the projects database by type or by city. Check out your city and ones around you and find out what they will do with the money.

Mental Disease,
When the bill comes out of conference, it requires 3/5 vote, filibuster or not. Please see “Schoolhouse Rock – How a Bill becomes a Law”

This guy is the most amateurish fear monger known in history. What’s he going to say if something really bad happens?
This is a recession stupid, not 9/11. Way to lead Curious George.

Steve, this is not an ordinary recession. If it were, job losses would have stabilized by now, but they are actually getting worse. We have lost twice as many jobs as the last two major recessions. Its time to wake up and smell the coffee.

The only catastrophe is Obama himself! We have a usurper in the White House. Free the original birth certificate. Mr.Obama, what is the name of the hospital where your mother gave birth to you?

What should concern us most is the fact that our President believes that HIS way is the only way.So far he has put his stamp on our taxes being used for overseas abortion, closing Gitmo, stopping the trials of known terrorist,first interview on TV was with Arab television, and now we must do this his way. All I can say is be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Remember the line he used ” We have chosen the climate of hope over fear ” Really?

HIS way? I don’t get Obama. He puts together this spending package, and lets the “bipartisan” idiots tear it apart, and NOW, finally, he goes on the road to sell a bill that has $350 billion in tax cuts, $50 billion in subsidies for the nuclear, coal and oil industries (which replaced $40 billion of actually stimulative aid to the states). I’m beginning to think Obama is actually a Republican.

For an immediate economic stimulus to the tune of BILLIONS, the U.S. simply needs to end the H1B visa program. The H1B visa program used primarily by Indian outsourcing companies, Microsoft, Google and banks, is nothing more than a way to suck BILLIONS out of the U.S. economy and discriminate against capable Americans. Every employee of the aforementioned companies that was laid off was replaced by an H1B visa “guest worker” because you can get two H1B visa workers for the cost of one American (or so they say).
For the last 8 years, the outsourcers claim is that no Americans are smart enough to do tech support jobs, accounting and banking jobs. How smart do you have to be to answer telephones, use a spreadsheet or count money?!
Well, look at Citi, BofA and all the other failing banks that employ the best and the brightest H1Bs. Last I looked, they are failing and accepting corporate welfare. Meanwhile, the H1Bs they employ are sending their money to India’s banks. How stupid can we be?! Blinded by greed I suppose.
BILLIONS are being sucked out of the economy by the H1B program.

It’s too late to avoid a “national catastrophe”, he is already in the office of the Presidency.

If you want to control all capital, the first principle of Socialism, you have to have a crisis large enough to convince people that giving government total power over capital is necessary to save them.
The second step is to institute wage controls. Obama has established the ground work for that by ‘freezing’ a few salaries at the federal level and some business executives who have been bailed out. Barney Frank publically stated the freeze on wages will be extended to other business.
The third and final step will be to set price controls, something that the Left has been experimenting with unsuccessfully on and off for years.
We will be socialist nation and never know how it happened; the transitional step to total Communism.

He says we need it to avoid a national catastrophe, it’s a little too late for that. It happened in November when that traitor was sent to the White House.

I can’t find the Republican response. Bush’s Saturday addresses were always followed by a Democrat response. Weren’t they

Dave,
/——-
Bush’s “tax cuts for the rich” increased federal income tax revenue by 35.83% over clinton, and his “corporate welfare” increased federal corporate tax revenue by 45.82%. His tax cuts drove average wages up by 29% and GDP by 47.78%. Look at the federal budget.
——–/
What part of Bush’s policies that caused a 7.2% unemployment rate don’t you get. Lemme put it another way. Is it better to have H1Bs pay taxes to boast that more income went to the feds while H1B deposits went to Indian banks or is it better to have the same income go to the feds while Americans work and contribute to the U.S. economy?

Move forward on the stimulus (spending) bill in spite of 200 economist, and a Nobel Laureate advice that it is harmfull.
Move forward on the stimulus (spending) bill in spite of the bipartisan Congressional Budge Office advice that it will hurt the Nation on the long haul.
Move forward on the stimulus (spending) bill in spite of the advice of the former Comptroller General claiming with the current disorganization it is bound to fail.
Smooth talking politicians from Chicago can be very effective.

Does anybody else see the lack of leadership here? FDR and Reagan were optimistic…… This guy is chicken little!

The economy obviously needs this stimulus package, but why are so many unessential programs getting huge funding during this crisis???? Its throwing my tax dollars down the tube, maybe if the senate and house paid their taxes they would spend this money a little wiser.

rocco,
/——–
This is either an outright lie or you (like so many of our electorate) are almost criminaly misinformed by our media. Please tell us where and how the Repubicans “redistributed” money from the middle class to the wealthy.
———/
Since you asked, here is an example. Middle class IT earners were replaced by Indian H1Bs. Since it is illegal to discriminate against Americans in the hiring process, the banks and other large corporations laid off their American workforce and began began ‘contracting’ with H1B slave suppliers. It is legal for Indian H1B-dependent outsourcing vendors to hire only Indians and discriminate against Americans. The CEOs of Banks and big business are now absolved of any wrong-doing. They now get their undeserved bonuses, but the middle class worker who held the jobs before the H1B replaced him is now on unemployment. Wealth was transferred from the middle class worker to the CEO. The burden is now on the rest of the middle class earners to pay the unemployment of the laid off American earner as well as the bonus of the CEO.
The BILLIONS of CEO bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch and similarly suited failing execs is nothing compared to the BILLIONS the U.S. economy loses to the H1B program every year. These same BILLIONS used to be cycled through Americans and kept the wheels of fortune cycling in the U.S.

To those who complain that we had a republican president for 8 years, I DEFY YOU to show we had a conservative one. He was NOT. Bush was a fiscal LIBERAL by any standard that you wish to choose. His drug benefit for seniors was the 2ND LARGEST entitlement in government history!
Obama promised me a TAX CUT! He said that 95% of Americans would get a TAX CUT – where is it? There are posters on here saying that Bush’s tax cuts didn’t work – Obama ADMITTED in a primary debate that it RAISED REVENUE – it did! So that notion is BS. Obama also said he would replace the politics of fear and replace it with ~hope~. A total lie from a radical socialist THUG, (who never ran anything other than his mouth), proven by the FACT that now he is trying to scare us, (some ‘change’ huh?), into supporting this outrageous liberal spending bill that will:
1. Eventually cause rampant inflation
2. Not help the economy according to the CBO
3. Hobble our children and their children in debt.
Get RID of the liberal CRAP in this bill (like money to ACORN THUGS), and make it ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure projects ONLY!

Mike M,
There are over $350 BILLION in tax cuts in the recovery bill and you know it. Stop playing dumb.

The CBO actually said that the plan will increase GDP by about 2.5% and add 2-3 million jobs.
Yes, this is a bit less than what Obama says about the bill, but it did not say what you think it did. If the ‘liberal media’ was more accurate, they would tell you what the CBO actually said.
They did say that the GDP increase would be offset by about a 0.3% decrease from the ‘crowding out’ factor of government bonding.
Overall that makes some sense. But if industry is not investing now, the only investment is going to come from government.
Another couple of months of this and the middle class is going to be begging for socialism.

If the purpose is to create jobs, why not offer a matching funds grant for any small businessman who wishes to start a new business with his own money?

Obama and Pelosi need to stop this “We won” retoric. The only people they want to be bipartisan is the republicans. 48-49% of voters did not vote for them. The republican Senators and Congress that are voting against this bill are largely from states that did not vote for Obama and don’t want this new bill. Even states that voted for Obama are not fairly represented as it was often one or two large counties/cities that took the decision away from the rest of the state. Obama/Pelosi and the rest of the Dems should be careful.
Pride commeth before the fall. If you need proof, look at what has happened to prideful republicans in the last few elections.

This whole episode is like a blitzkreig into socialism. Hurry up and get in line for slavery. The only big employer in larger cities is already government, this will finish us off.
Of course, if you think Detroit is a paradise you’re happy about this scam.
There is nothing more deceitful and proud of defeat than a Democrat.

The only catastrophe is Obama himself! We have a usurper in the White House. Free the original birth certificate. Mr.Obama, what is the name of the hospital where your mother gave birth to you?
Posted by: Catastrophe Ubama
===========================
See, everytime republicans get any chance of respect, an idiot like this takes it all away. You guys really need to get rid of the dead weight in your party. THEY are the reason the party is in shambles.

“See, everytime republicans get any chance of respect, an idiot like this takes it all away. You guys really need to get rid of the dead weight in your party. THEY are the reason the party is in shambles.”
Belle has her own views. I dont think she is or has ever been a Republican.
Hillary Democrats like TaxasDarlin were the ones pushing the birth certificate thing.

I am a Democrat and I voted for Obama. I am now deeply embarassed to have to admit that, having seen the PORK and the EARMARKS and the SPENDING, SPENDING, SPENDING.
I believed in Obama. I trusted him with my campaign donations. And now he has pretty much gone back on everything he has said during the campaign. HE is fear-mongering, not Republicans. SLOW DOWN, Mr. President.
It’s like we Democrats are drunk with power. This is crazy!!!

I know LIBERALS love this whole thing. The ruin. The disaster. The catastrophe. That’s what they live for.
But, if there is one who is not afraid to admit they are out there today, could you please answer one sincere question?
EXACTLY HOW MUCH SPENDING WOULD BE TOO MUCH?
Forget about how to pay it back. Seriously.
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

DEF…
Amen

Every year for the past 8 years, at least 100,000 Indian H1B visas are issued. For every 100,000 Indian H1Bs replacing American workers, 10 BILLION dollars per year gets sucked out of the U.S. and grows the Indian economy. That’s a lot of money for our economy to lose year after year. End H1B now for an immediate stimulus to the U.S. economy!

To “avoid a national catastrophe”? Sorry, Barry O, but we’ve already had our national catastrophe…in case you missed it, it happened on Jan 20, 2009.

Search “rules for psychopaths” you will see what drives the left.
Also, search “manufactured crisis” and “Barack Obama” to see the tools that are being used on our free society.
Does freedom really mean nothing else to lose? (Me and Bobby McGee–Janis Joplin)

And if none of this works, who will take the responsibility for the failure and waste of our tax money?
If it fails will the President and all those that voted for it resign from office?
——————
AND IF IT DOES WORK…..everybody that DIDN’T vote for SIT DOWN AND KEEP YOUR MOUTHS SHUT !!!!!

Dog spelled backwards is God, mans best friend, either way! Obama can’t afford a dog right now, it would be out of character for him. This Scheme to take America away from the Constitutionally guaranteed Citizen ownership political structure, CHANGE it to government ownership as quickly as possible, is anything but “mans best friend”. Enslave the people before they realize they were captured into Socialism, the task could be accomplished smooth as pudding, for a good conniver. How’d Obama put it don’t be bumfuzzeled or hornswaggled, he felt so masterful of the art of conniving that he warned you about it, his image protectors gasped and cringed at his revelation. He just laughed and repeated it when they said; huh? The poor can’t afford to pay the wealthy to take care of their every need, their expensive lifestyles are too great a cost. How many poor babies could be fed with what just one politician wastes in a DAY? How many shacks could be turned into mansions, if they’d just stay in their mansion and forgo any partying for just one vacation? How many vagrants (Street people) could they help if they would just give up a golf outing and build an insulated barn-like shelter. They could defiantly feed the poor, if they truly wanted to!!!! They don’t want to, that’s why there are missions in most towns, people feeding the people, while the government is steadily taking credit, while steadily robbing the poor. They used to put blinders on horses, so they couldn’t see the carriage, plow or load they were dragging behind them and get spooked (Revolt), but this is ridiculous, people getting up every morning and putting their own blinders on, so they can’t see what’s dragging them down and cursing anyone who tries to help them remove them!!!

This bills needs to be pared down to (a) emergency aid to states and (b) shovel-ready infrastructure projects including shoring up the ailing electrical grids and existing new-energy pursuits.
Guiding principles should be: what will stop the bleeding immediately, and what will constitute investments in long-term new industries? Immediate crisis intervention in state shortfalls: will stop massive layoffs (which would mean more people losing their homes, loss of revenue, and further downward spiral) while buying states a little time to restructure. Shovel-ready: No time to allocate money and then cook up make-work projects. Needed, ready-to-go projects only, with contracts going to local existing businesses and not adding to government payrolls.
Everything else on that bill is fluff and should be cut out.
At the heart of this crisis: the fundamentals of the economy are broken. Most incomes do not cover living expenses (safe housing, for example), and credit has been used as a safety net rather than borrowing for a specific one-time need. The income-expense ratio for most people is unsustainable — a major reason for this credit crisis. We also cannot power an economy on mostly low-paying service industries alone. Our old-style manufacturing is a ghost of its former self. We also need to move away from being a net importer of food. We can’t continue depend on other countries for our basic needs. We need innovation in new industries at home. That will require a mix of science and industrial revitalization, not to mention education to prepare our own home-grown people to compete in such work. And maybe just maybe such new industry would also result in other countries’ demand for these new products and thus help even out our trade imbalance…
If we as a country can diversity our economy (multiple strands of retail and low-paying services do not constitute a diversified economy), revenue income for government increases as a result. At the same time, we need to take a long hard look at what services are needed from government and gradually spin off everything else into the private sector (not suddenly, as sudden government employee layoffs could cause massive economic disaster and too much human suffering in the short run). New income-generating industries are the only way to increase revenues without tax increases. That, plus bringing government down from its bloated size by spinning off the nonessentials is needed to reduce the federal deficit. And maybe this will head off a devaluation of the dollar as well.

Obama is a laughing stock. He’s fallen off a cliff in just 2 1/2 weeks. He wanted 80 Senate votes and he has to pull out all the stops to just get 60. What a joke this guy is. He has totally misread the electorate’s dislike for Bush as a mandate for his socialist polices that the country does NOT want.
If they are successful in cramming this crap sandwich down our throats, we will see huge GOP wins in 2010. W’s follies will be a long-lost memory and the pain and suffering of Obama’s trillion-dollar kickback to his base will be front of mind.
To our liberal friends: enjoy the next two years. The sun is already setting on Hope. T = -715 days and counting.

I’m just curious as to what happens when (and if) we do get the alleged jobs? What happens when people from the hills of Eastern Kentucky, and other states like us, have to drive hundreds of miles to get a job under this stimulus plan? This isn’t going to affect us in the least. Small towns like mine will continue to suffer. And even if it does work out, it will only last for a short period of time. What happens when the work is done? People go home and, once again, file for unemployment. Mail us a check. It’ll stimulate the economy better than having to file for unemployment and bankruptcy in the end.

On George’s show this morning, George Will made one point that makes a lot of sense: for Democrats when the government is spending money, that’s stimulus. The President said something very similar the other night when he was pep-rallying the democratic caucus. That tends to be different from my understanding of stimulus – I tend to think of stimulus as money the government spends to boost the economy in a tangible way. Using the military as an example: if the Navy needs a jet that creates jobs at the factory and the suppliers of those factories and the suppliers of those suppliers and so on and so forth. It tends to be a kind of organic response that results from a kind of artificial insemination of sorts. It is like the government throws down a bunch of seeds and fertilizer and we get a wide range of benefits from the new crop. There is a built in expectation of an oversupply of benefit or, at minimum there is a break even point that makes the money spent justifiable. If the Navy loses the plane they order another one and the process starts all over again. (Using bombs is a better example) When I read the Bill and its many provisions I was struck by what I viewed to be a bunch of things that did not meet this test. We collectively refer to this as “earmarks.” And, based on the President’s telling “there have never been a Bill that came through Congress that didn’t have earmarks.” (This comment was a surprise after he vowed to veto any Bills that had earmarks during the Presidential debates.) The poster boy for these seemingly unproductive projects are things like the Frisbee Park in Austin or the millions slated for new sewer lines in St. Louis. The list goes on and on and the more I read the more it appeared that the greater part of this Bill were earmarks that, though likely to be good projects to support do not appear to be the stuff that meets my test of what constitutes stimulus. It all made a lot of sense after George Will made that observation. If you follow the money from there (like any good detective) and throw in that the Democrats feel entitled because they have the White House and the Congress and were shunned a few short years ago by their Republican counterparts you have the makings for a rampage. They want this stuff because they want it and they are including it because they can. And, if you believe that anytime the government spends money (regardless of where or how it is spent) then this is all the more justification that what they are doing is right and will fix our collective economic woes. I found George Will’s observation very helpful in understanding why otherwise intelligent people are insisting on what one would think are appropriations in what is supposed to be an economic stimulus (a la my definition above) plan. I just thought I would mention this; it made a lot of sense why the Democrats are dead set on loading this package up with what appears to be some of their favorite sons’ pet projects (from the “one man’s earmark is another man’s pet project”). The other thing that George Will said is that none of these guys have any idea if any of this will work or not – it is a pure crap shoot. So, Guess we can keep arguing about it and I sort of like all this (cable like) chatter – I like to read your comments and hear your thoughts. But, if George Will is right (and even the most liberal of you have to admit that George Will is a smart guy) we need to get on with the stimulus part of this Bill (whatever that means) and do it with some swiftness (even if your pet project didn’t make the cut).

“if we don’t move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe.” – If this is true, why hasn’t Obama spent any of the $350 B he got from Congress in the beginning of January? Why is he going to Camp David, to elementary schools, to Wilmington retreats instead of coming up with a plan to spend the $350 B he already has?

The official toll is that we’re losing 500,000 jobs a month, and its been doing that for the last several months. Before then, we were losing jobs at a somewhat slower rate. If you look at the chart you’ll see that the rate appears to be accelerating with a purpose. This does not look like it will correct, it looks like it has enough strength to continue and it may even pick up speed. What will provoke the job loss rate to slow down? Tax cuts work really well when business is excellent; when business is down, tax cuts are obviously less effective since taxed revenues are down, in some cases way down, but they will help. However, government has been deficit spending for a very long time, so very soon you’ll be looking at reducing government spending to match the cuts. The stimulus package must be aimed very well to have the desired effect, and spending money on infrastructure that’s been neglected for decades is an insightful a way to do it. One way or the other, government has to get smaller after this.

Thank you George Bush. President Obama is using exact same tactics, SCARE the American public. President Obama a man of change and hope does not resort to fearful words. How about deleting frisbee parks and all the other pork. I want to know how many jobs will be generated and when…No Bull Just Facts.I am a nurse living in a cold house because of cost of heating/ How about President Obama not waste fuel campaigning and stay in his new home helping us poor folk.

oh its bad out there in my home town of 20,000. 2000 jobs lost in last 6 month projected anothre 7 hundred in next couple months….all this could have been avoided but bush though things were strong atleast the fundamentals. so sad how the gop destroyed america.

Where have I heard those words before?
Oh yeah! George W. Bush. Some change?

Wow, all these comments do a great job of illustrating how uninformed the American people are on just about everything.
Everyone arguing back and forth, this …ism that …ism Republican this, Democrat that, citing propaganda as sources to back up pointless arguments.
Nobody’s perfect, but FWIW:
If you are a Republican, support Ron Paul. If you are Democrat, support Kucinich. Be good to each other, its going to be a long Depression.
And read “war is a racket’ is by Smedley Butler. Google it up, it’s a short read.
Pray for peace. The life you save may be your own.