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Date Posted: 07:38:06 02/14/09 Sat
Author: scooter
Subject: Jeannine, sami, Hogarth....

I am interested in hearing what your solution is to our current crisis. You seem very sure that Obama's plan won't work. Please go on record and tell us what you would do to improve our economy.

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[> Okay, remember you asked! -- Hogarth, 08:04:09 02/14/09 Sat [1]

The first thing I would do is to stop calling it Obama's plan. It is not his plan, it is Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid's plan. In my opinion, he should have vetoed it and sent it back to congress insisting that they tailor a plan that met his promises: no earmarks (and please, don't insult us all by buying into the very facile re-definition of 'earmark' that he is trying to slide by us), expenditures targeted for short-term recovery, and a line by line presidential review of the expenditures. This would have demonstrated leadership, a quality that I have yet to see from him. Instead, he allowed himself to be railroaded into selling a plan that is chock full of liberal agenda items. He showed that congress wears the pants in that relationship. He showed weakness.

So you want to hear alternative proposals? Well, you should do what Obama failed to do and actually listen to alternative plans. You don't even have to go to the extreme point of listening to those stupid, corrupt, greedy Republicans either. Here was a proposal from Obama's own party that made perfect sense to me:

"Rep. Walt Minnick, a freshman Democrat from Idaho, is pushing a better idea: The Strategic Targeted American Recovery and Transition Act (START).

Minnick is a member of the Blue Dog caucus of occasionally conservative Democrats. His START plan is a $170 billion “bare bones” pure stimulus approach that would put $100 billion immediately into the pockets of low- and middle-income Americans, then use the other $70 billion for basic infrastructure projects that create jobs. START requires that all funds not spent by 2010 be returned to the Treasury. START also stops stimulus spending when the nation’s Gross Domestic Product increases in two of three previous quarters, and all START payments are required to be posted on a public website."

That plan went nowhere, of course, with either Democrats or Republicans because it did nothing to grease the palms of their high-dollar contributors. Lord knows you can't spend a useful dollar in our congress without an additional useless $99 of pandering and bribes. It doesn't matter which party is in the majority - they all benefit from spending our money to keep their jobs and grow our already-bloated government. The only difference is which set of fat cats get the lion's share of our money.

While Pelosi/Reid/and now Obama's plan will do wonders for another irrevocable growth in ineffective gov't programs and a huge increase in unsustainable entitlement costs, it will fail as a stimulus just like Bush's $700b giveaway to poorly managed banks and millionaire CEOs failed. And, just like Bush's failure, it will incur even more follow-on spending because if there is one thing congress does well, it's to throw good money after bad.


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[> Everything Hogarth said and a couple of more points -- Jeannine, 10:42:13 02/14/09 Sat [1]

50 Million for the National Endowment for the Arts? One Billion for STD education? How does this stimulate the economy? That is only the beginning. I, of course haven't read the entire plan. No one has. Good thing we were promised it will be posted online 48 hours before the vote so we can all read it.....

I love Hogarth's idea of a line by line Presidential review. This is supposed to be a crisis that is so bad that we won't survive if we get it wrong. Why is it more important for the President to fly off to hard hit cities and give speeches to his adoring public than to review, revise and LEAD this Congress to do the right thing?

If I am overly sensitive and angry, it is not because "my guy" lost. It is because I am tired of hearing how bipartisan Obama is while he is totally ignoring any and all suggestions from the right. A cocktail party is not bipartisanship. I am tired of hearing how the Democrats inherited this mess while totally ignoring the role that Democrats like Barney Frank played in the current financial mess. But most of all, I am sickened that we are taking a huge leap toward a Socialist government where the people that REALLY need help from the government will instead become more dependent on it.

Bring it down to our level Scooter. Honestly. Say your child is having financial difficulty. You bail them out, I know I have with my child. But you can only do that so many times before they have to learn to survive on their own or you go broke and you are in the same shape as them. Eventually you are not the solution, you are an enabler, you are the problem. Now, imagine that you are in huge financial trouble. Do you borrow much much more and spend spend spend???? Do you spend on things that will help you recover or spend on things that gee, it will be nice to have but you could certainly put off until your problems are solved.

I know that is overly simplistic, but it is also logical.

The only good thing about this Stimulus Bill is that it is owned IN WHOLE by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama.


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[> [> Thanks for answering my question. -- scooter, 14:04:57 02/14/09 Sat [1]

I'm not going to argue, it's pointless. We'll wait and see what happens.


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[> [> [> And I personally thank you for your civility -- Jeannine, 15:42:16 02/14/09 Sat [1]

We have rarely seen eye to eye but I honestly think you want to understand how I feel.


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[> [> Thank you both. -- niki, 10:25:51 02/15/09 Sun [1]

I finally understand a bit better. I DO have concerns with this package, but I must admit less than I had with the last one.

But it does help to hear where you are coming from.


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