If we listen to people like House Minority Leader John Boehner, we would believe that there is no such thing as a lagging economic indicator. Representative Boehner and the rest of the Republican tribe would have us all believe that if the Stimulus Package that Congress passed earlier this year does not hit the economy like nitro hitting a heart patient, and giving immediate results, then it does not work. Well, as usual, I think they are all wet.
The Stimulus will work, just as the stimulus worked in bringing us out of the Great Depression. World War Two was in effect a stimulus. What Republicans do not understand is that a stimulus does not have to be for tanks and planes to work. A stimulus to rebuild our infrastructure as a country will have the same, if not a better effect. And, while we are at it, we need to rebuild the electric grid of the whole country. Talk about National Security, I can not think of anything as important to our National Security as our electric grid. Money spent on the grid will pay off big time as we move into the 21st century.
Keeping police, fire and teachers on the job by helping the states with their budgets is also part of the stimulus and, in my opinion, part of our National Security as well. The more people we can keep working at jobs that already exist the faster we can come out of the recession.
Credit remains a key factor to bringing the economy out of the current recession. Credit is money in the 21st century, and without credit businesses and consumers are reduced to paying for everything with cash. A cash economy does not grow as fast as a credit economy. The banks need to be encouraged to lend, but they also need to be put back into the banking business, only. If they do not have any other means of earnings, they will lend money.
The Stimulus will work and it is working, but it is going to take more than a year for it to be really felt. An economy the size of the United States' economy does not react like a Kool-Aid stand on the corner of Main Street on the 4th of July.
Stay tuned.
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5 comments:
Nomi Prins has a new book out called "It Takes A Pillage" in which she details her view of how the American people have been bent over and BF'd by Wall Street and the former Wall Streeters who now are the power brokers in the Federal Government.
Her view may be jaundiced - but then - who's to say she's not right?
She could be 'out for the buck' herself - and writing a book that sensationalizes the issues would be just the ticket. Or she could be honest and forthright - but she used to be highly placed at Goldman Sachs - and how does a woman get to that kind of position in the male dominated world of finance? Not by being honest and forthright, for sure.
I think you're correct, Moneythoughts. Everybody's looking for the quick fix and the magic bullet -- we want everything RIGHT NOW. It's too soon to tell if/how/where the stimulus money did the most good. We all know that some of it is going towards worthy projects. Of course, we also know that some of it will inevitably end up in not-so-worthy projects, but that's no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Personally, at this juncture, I doubt anybody will pay much heed to John Boehner. What has HE done for us lately?
Summer
Lou, Cute title and who knows, it may be a good book. I will check it out. Nothing wrong with being out for a buck. If Sarah can do it, why not everyone else? Coming out of Goldman Sachs isn't a death sentence for me, I knew some very decent people that worked for Goldman Sachs.
Summer, I agree, and hopefully most of it will be used for what it was intended. We can always hope.
I truly can't stand Boehner. Why is he so tanned? All that Ohio sunshine? It would be great to invest in infrastructure. When you live in a pothole with a Walmart in the middle, it's hard to see the potential in that place. I wish there were a way to get spendable credit to people who volunteer and do charity work. I wonder if that would be a good stimulus?
You know I have wondered about that myself, why is John Boehner always so tan. I think he is a very nice looking man. He dresses well and I like his choice of ties. What I don't like is his anti-Obama stance on almost everything President Obama says or does. So, is John Boehner a racist, or does he just not like our first black president? I guess that shit plays well in his Congressional district.
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