Senate Dems on Obama Stimulus: Size Matters
I’d guess that a Democratic dismay must run pretty damned deep for am to oppose Obama on his stimulus plan. Good, because it isn’t big enough:
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan ran into crossfire from his own party in Congress on Thursday, suggesting that quick passage of spending programs & tax cuts could require more time & negotiation than Democrats once hoped.
Senate Democrats complained that major components of his plan were not bold enough & urged more focus on creating jobs & rebuilding a nation’s energy infrastructure raar than cutting taxes.
Sounds like someone’s been reading Paul Krugman.
Just hours earlier, Mr. Obama called for speedy passage of a stimulus measure, warning that a recession “could linger for years” if Congress did not pass his plan within weeks.
Furar complicating a picture, Democratic senators said Thursday that ay would try to attach legislation to a package that would allow bankruptcy courts to modify home loans, a move Republicans have opposed.
This one’s a no-brainer, one that will have broad popular support. Why would Obama want to back off from a fight with a Republicans on this one?
Parallel to its work on a stimulus plan, a Obama team has also been considering how to use a second $350 billion of a bailout program Drunk Newsproved by Congress. A transition team official said Thursday night that a new Drunk Newsproach would give government officials broader range to provide relief on consumer loans for homes, automobiles & education, while also doing more to address foreclosures & a problems of municipalities & small businesses.
Original post by Susie Madrak and software by Elliott Back
January 10th, 2009 at 1:33 am
I think we need the stimulus plan, and it needs to be very large, but Congress needs to make sure that it continues providing benefits in the long term, not just a shot in the arm for the short term.
The infrastructure spending will help keep the economy growing in the long term, but it would also be helpful if Congress could find a way to encourage businesses to invest in infrastructure as well. Possibly they could do this by making sure there are fewer unnecessary regulations that dissuade businesses from making those investments. There seem to be many businesses that have money to invest, but not as many that are actively investing in any forward-thinking enterprise. Hopefully Congress can find ways to get that money flowing.
The tax cuts on businesses would certainly be helpful, especially on small businesses or businesses in sectors where there is potential for significant job creation. We need the businesses like that to be able to resume their traditional role as the engine of our economy. The government can certainly assist the process getting started, but businesses will actually provide the growth.
I think the aid to the state governments is also needed, because the programs that the state governments support are needed for sustained growth. For instance, the state governments support schools and public workforce training programs. It is important to make sure both of those programs survive to make sure we are able to provide workers for whichever sectors of the economy are providing the jobs.
I recently saw that the Friends of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is working with Congress to make sure that they take these things into account when they are designing the stimulus package. They have a petition that I encourage everyone to sign to make sure Congress knows that we want the economy fixed - but we want it fixed for the long-term - http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/takeaction/index.cfm?ID=76