The Stimulus package passed by the House of Representatives this week has been the main topic of discussion in the news, on the blogs and around the water cooler. Here are a couple of my reactions.
Stimulus or Pork?
The gigantic "stimulus" bill has come under a lot of fire. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that less than 20% of the funds in the bill would be spent in the first year and less than half in the first two. From my perspective, the bill looks like an attempt to pass every possible liberal program while the public is receptive to spending due to recession fears. Frankly, it appears that passage will lead to inflation and guarantee a generation of suffocating tax increases to pay the enormous bill for all that spending.
GOP Still Has Some Life:
I was very pleased by the House Republicans refusal to vote for the bill. It sent me a message that the GOP is not quite ready to go the way of the Whigs. Eric Cantor is a real leader for the GOP. He's smart, calm, reasonable and persuasive. He called Obama's bluff on the "I won" statement. Now there is even hope that some Senate Democrats may abandon the bill. Mitch McConnell has to steel his troops. If this bloated deal becomes law, the GOP should have no part in it.
The Public Still Gets the Story Despite Media Cheerleading (And Mis-Leading):
A poll indicated that support for the stimulus plan has dropped under 50%. Apparently reports that experts from various political persuasions (like Alice Rivlin, Democratic former head of the CBO) were against the bill have had some effect on the Obama-fest that was running unabated in Washington. Polls such as this may explain the cold feet which some Senate Democrats appear to be getting regarding the bill.
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I agree with what you said totally. This bill needs to be as perfect as any bill that has ever been signed into law. At present this law is a testament to moronica. This law must be pork free, just like Campbell's Pork and Beans but I digress, and needs to put people to work and not pay for Rep. Joe Shmoe's pet project in Outer Timbuktu, Utah. The plan that the democrats have put forth in Congress falls far short of the president's vision for this bill. This bill cannot be railroaded through as is and I hope the Republicans and saner members of the Democratic party continue to hold out until this bill is reworked so that it is deserving of the president's signature.
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