President Obama told us several times during the last couple of weeks that without passage of the economic stimulus bill, the United States would lose over 50,000 jobs per day.
Well, seeing how the bill was passed last Friday night, had he signed it into law with the urgency previously espoused, he could have saved almost a quarter of a million jobs by the time he’ll ceremoniously sign it today in Denver.
That puts mucho doubt in my mind of how serious he was, how bad off the economy really is, and how certain of success Washington, D.C. is about the potential of this gargantuan bill.
From what we know of it (thus far), much of this bill doesn’t kick in until 2010, which just happens to be the year of the midterm elections. I’ve always been suspicious of road projects that mysteriously appear every two years, mere months before we go to the polls. Imagine that on a state and national scale.
As the fiscal conservative I am, throwing more money and power to an already bloated and arrogant government doesn’t seem to me to be the end-all-be-all for restarting a sputtering economy. If I were president, I’d do what President Bush did but on a grander scale.
Last year, we (taxpayers) all got checks. The reviews to this day say it didn’t work. Of course we’d hear that from liberal pundits and economists who would always side with bigger government vice an independent populace.
But many of us know why President Bush’s stimulus didn’t work.
There was the looming bank mess, created by
do-gooder Democrats, led by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. There was the run on banks triggered by New York Senator
Chuck Schumer’s big mouth. There was an
even bigger run on banks by sources unknown that almost collapsed the entire American monetary and political systems.
But instead of giving $1 trillion dollars to irresponsible state governments, liberal special interest groups, and creating more programs (thus jobs) for the federal government, what would have happened, as has been hypothesized, if the money was split up and given to the people who put it there in the first place?
Let’s say, just for this argument, that every taxpayer got a check for $35,000 and a married couple got $60,000.
It seems to me the immediate effect would be the strengthening of our financial institutions, because everyone who was in arrears on their mortgages and in danger of (or in the process of) foreclosure could have been brought up to date, and many would have enough to cover their mortgages for a few months while the economy began to heal.
People would have money for food, thus every segment of food preparation and distribution would have received an instant boost. Jobs would be created to meet the demand. Repeat that scenario with clothes, electronic equipment, furniture and household appliances, cellphones, computers and software, entertainment (music, movies, and television), energy, and "luxury" items.
People would have money to put down on a car, thus drastically reducing dealer inventory. Jobs would have been created to meet that demand and automakers would’ve seen a jump in orders and parts, thus keeping autoworkers at work and their companies not in need of a bail-out.
As I said earlier, homeowners would have been stabilized and that would’ve almost immediately halted the growing number of homes being taken over by banks, which are now responsible for their upkeep and property taxes until a new buyer comes along. This would have freed up more credit for small business owners who rely on the banks for credit to meet their monthly overhead, including payroll.
People who acquired those subprime mortgages would be able to pay off that looming balloon payment, which will cause the next round of foreclosures.
Speaking of small business, many people and families would’ve had the initial investment capital to start up their own small business, and as politicians always brag about how those small businesses are the gasoline of America’s economic engine, think about the nitro boost a burgeoning small business barrage would give almost every sector of our economy?
Small businesses also need stuff to operate, and as they’d buy stuff, the people who made that stuff would receive orders, thus need more people to make and distribute it.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
Young people receiving such a check would hopefully get some advice from a parent or mentor, but imagine all of those students whom, in some cases, could pay off their entire two-to-four years at many community colleges, and put a good dent in their debt for larger ones. More people going to colleges mean fewer teachers being laid off and shrinking endowments. Everybody wins.
The reckless would even help the economy. Again, car and jewelry sales would rise, and those companies that make those fancy rims would see an uptick in business. Who knows, crime may even come down as fewer people would need to steal those rims because they could buy their own.
The poor could pay their rent, buy food and clothes, pay their utilities, and weather the now-brief economic downturn until they could find new jobs. Imagine the homeless that would have the money to get a motel room and have a warm place to drink on those cold winter nights.
And the bad news for Democrats is that with all the commerce that would ensue with The People having the ability to spend our money, the revenues coming back into local, state, and federal coffers would be mind boggling. Some responsible legislative bodies (emphasis on “some”) might even have the wherewithal to not only balance a budget, but put money away for that proverbial rainy day.
Instead of amassing a generational albatross around the necks of young people, the nation could be extremely productive, since people who have jobs buy things and pay bills, thus maintaining that evil capitalist cycle that perpetuates until there is some kind of obstructionist government intervention.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just “ordinary people”. I’m not one of the brightest, smartest, working in government.
President Obama’s economic stimulus act (pushed through with induced panic and haste) is not forecast to see results right away. We used to joke in the Navy about "Hurry up and wait." The president’s urgency has been tempered with a lowering of expectations, which begs the question, if he’s not sure if it will work, why do it?
Because this is purely a political power grab, designed specifically to centralize political power, create and maintain government dependency, reward certain constituencies, punish others, and perpetuate partisan control for the foreseeable future.
For those of you who supported the president and his plan, while you’re waiting for the economy to turn around, think about how $35,000-$60,000 could have changed the lives of you and your family, and the president and congress that wouldn’t think of letting that happen.
