So .... are we sufficiently stimulated ...... ?

[Stinky The Clown]

I actually have no clue. Was this big enough or not?

[MercutioATC]

1. Other: It might be big enough, but it's not well-targeted enough.

This isn't an emergency stimulus bill, it's just a spending free-for-all.

I think it's going to cause harm...maybe more than it helps.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

2. I'd have to agree with you. ...n/t

[MercutioATC]

6. Ssssh! Don't admit that openly here.

There are some people who get quite enraged...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8189723

[Lucinda]

16. Yup.

[notesdev]

18. You got it right

This was a grand display of total irresponsibility and a clear demonstration of all that is wrong in the decision-making processes in our government. "As long as I get mine" is a governing philosophy that leads to ruin, yet nearly every last member of Congress appears to act as if that were their guiding principle.

All this bill does is hand money to politicians' friends, at an outrageous cost. It is an orgy of self-service, and them pretending it represents some kind of 'stimulus' makes it all the more galling. I highly doubt they actually believe they can solve a problem of too much debt by creating $800 billion more of it - and I can't believe that people who got far enough to hold a seat in Congress can be that colossally stupid.

The rhetorical foundation of the 'stimulus' basically relies on magic. Not one politician could articulate a clear connection between the borrowing and spending of $800 billion and economic recovery.

The truth is that we are in a Great Depression scenario and all the government can do right now is make the problem worse. Well, they could do some helpful things... say, prosecuting the key people behind the financial fraud that brought about this state of affairs, and recovering what can be recovered from them; closing the Federal reserve; ending the practice of fractional reserve lending; ending the importation of foreign labor; reducing the complexity of the tax code; etc. etc. etc., but none of the possibly helpful things seem to be a topic of discussion on Capitol Hill.

[ixion]

3. Nope, not big enough, and in fact will make things worse

because we don't have the money to begin with.

[backscatter712]

4. It's about half of what's needed to pull the economy out of this tailspin.

It'll probably have the effect of lessening this economic shitstorm - instead of having an all-out Great Depression 2.0, we'll have a lesser, but still long and miserable recession.

I predict (and Obama probably already plans it) that we will be seeing Stimulus Bill 2.0 sometime this summer or fall. It's easier to jam Keynesian common sense down the throats of Rethugs when you cut it into smaller pieces.

[sandnsea]

11. An Energy and Health Plan

I don't think we'll see stimulus 2.0, I think we'll see the programs that people supported in the campaign, health care reform and renewable energy investment. He can still do something with health care because he hasn't repealed the Bush tax cuts yet, and he hasn't created any new oil taxes either. He's still got a lot of room to move this economy I think.

[backscatter712]

15. Health care plan as stimulus - that could work.

It could involve several hundred billion of .gov spending per year. President Obama can beat the Rethugs over the head mercilessly, making them look like cold-blooded, heartless bastards for giving pushback on health care reform. It's guaranteed to be quite popular.

That's a good way to add a few hundred billion worth of stimulus to the economy, while dealing with the 45+ million uninsured, underinsured and screwed-by-insurance in this country.

[sandnsea]

17. If it removes health care costs

from business, it could be a huge economic benefit. Get a little closer to that level playing field we need to be at.

Hopefully we'll get a lot of direct economic stimulus from the R&D money going to NIH, maybe some stem cell, cancer, diabetes breakthroughs.

I just feel like there is a lot out there to be optimistic about, if we could just get the money flowing in the right direction for a change. The Chinese crap economy has been about the damned dumbest thing ever, and I blame our corporations and investors for it because the money came from here.

[Dukkha]

5. it was giving spare charge to the nation's panhandler

they'll eat for now but still no future

[sandnsea]

7. It'll put the brakes on

Whether we get out of this mess depends on the extent money goes into alternative energy and mass transit. If we don't create a new economic engine, we're in for a long slow slog.

[Kip Humphrey]

8. Without the condums, a successful stimulation is more likely though the outcome still is uncertain

maybe if they threw in some pornography subsidies...

[tridim]

9. I'll reserve judgement until I see how the nation reacts.

[scarletwoman]

10. Come on. You're supposed to say that size doesn't matter.

Oooooh, baby! Oh yeah! Oooooh, you turn me ON! Aaaaahhhh, aaaaahhhhh, AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! Oh wow, oh baby, oh don't stop, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh oh oh OH!!!!

(*gasp* *pant* *pant* *pant*)

sw

[madville]

12. I don't think people understand it will take a year or two for the ball to get rolling

I went with fart in the wind. Only in Washington would you decide the answer to ridiculous spending and debt is more spending/more debt. It going to be a year or two before this stimulus even starts having any visible success.

Tax breaks - That will materialize in a year, gonna be minuscule when inflation hits.

Infrastructure projects - Contracts have to be bid and awarded, plans/designs have to be made, permits have to be approved, court challenges fought over eminent domain and environmental concerns, etc. One or two years before that gets underway if the fast track it.

Unemployment benefits and food stamp funding will get depleted very quickly as more people use it.

[cliffordu]

13. Yes, I am stimulated.... but not in that way

I loves me some espresso.....

[stillcool]

14. I'm with you...I have no idea..

but I'm very happy for the people who will be helped.