So, Bri (aka Esteemed Webmistress, as Der Hersteller likes to call her) has given me the task of writing a weekly politics blog… on Mondays. And, as I look at my clock and gasp in amazement, it seems that today is, in fact, a Monday and is a perfect time to write my first weekly politics blog. But before I get down to the actual topic, let me first tell you what’s going to be happening (if you don’t really give a crap, skip down to where it says “*start of actual blog*”):
Each week I will write a blog concerning a current political issue. I will take a current article, summarize it, give my view on it, maybe do a little extra research, and ask you (yes, you) to give your views, concerns, and experiences as well. I will try to be current, relevant, and thoughtful, and if you think that I fail in any of these categories, please point that out so that I may rectify these mistakes so as to present a more interesting blog. Well, that about covers it, so here we go:
*start of actual blog*
Today’s topic: Economic Stimulus Package
Article: Paul Kane, “Senate to Vote Today on Stimulus Bill” (url: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/09/AR2009020901020.html)
We sure have been hearing a whole lot about the failing economy lately, but for most of us it hasn’t really hit home, as the area in which we live is pretty much wrapped up in an economic safe-bubble due to the oil industry (which will probably pop with devastating results when the fossil fuels dry up). But for the rest of the country, it is very much a reality. The recently elected President Obama realizes this, and this is why he and the senate have been working laboriously over the last couple weeks on an economic stimulus package that will, if not stop the economic recession from happening (a very unlikely prospect), then at the very least slow its course or make it merely a recession, rather than another great depression.
Today, the senate cleared the path for the final vote in a 61 to 36 vote (barely passing the 60 required votes for the bill to pass due to the only three republicans for the bill). The bill will, if passed in the final vote, provide $838 billion to a wide variety of purposes, including a 15,000 dollar tax credit to home buyers and 3.4 billion dollars in repairs to public parks. These spendings will be tacked on to the $700 billion rescue plan for banks that was passed last fall as well as “$400 billion that must be approved to keep most federal agencies running for the latter half of fiscal 2009 and an undetermined amount from the Federal Reserve to continue shoring up the financial system.” This is the major concern for senate republicans, causing the senate to be nearly divided down the aisle on this issue.
Personally, I think that we really need this, and I think President Obama is right in saying that doing nothing now will just make the situation worse. But some parts of it seem really odd. Like 3.4 billion for public parks? Do we really need to put that much money into parks when our economy is in the dumps? I can see school repairs and construction (which the senate has cut back on compared to the house), but not parks. It’s not that I’m not for beautifulness and whatever, but it just doesn’t seem like it should be on top of the list. Speaking of the list, I really would like to see a list of all the stuff that money is going to an how much, so if someone could find it, that’d be great. So I guess the last question to ask is this: what do you think about the bill? Is it worthwhile or just a waste of dough? Will it slow down our problem or just have as much of an effect as a gnat hitting a windshield? Is the money well placed or would our fiscal resources be better allocated elsewhere? Well, for now at least, this is Aardvarki, signing out.
One last note:
So what does this mean for us? Well, more tax breaks for sure, especially if the senate version passes as apposed to the house, as it includes 110 billion dollars more in tax cuts. And everyone loves tax cuts… I guess. But really the purpose of these tax cuts go to waste if people don’t do what they’re actually supposed to do with them: which is be wasteful. Yep, that’s right. You’ve always heard “save, save, save,” but the fact is, that is what generally causes a recession to get worse. As the economy goes down, people start cutting back on spending, and as that happens, the economy goes down even more because this money isn’t being fed into the free market and is rather being pooled – saved for a rainy day as the days keep getting rainier. So what can you do? I know it’s hard (and I’m not sure if I can even bring myself to do it), but be wasteful. Buy a computer. Buy an iPod. Buy really fancy clothes. Be, in short wasteful. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense – which is why people aren’t doing it. Common sense dictates that when things in general get more expensive, you should start buying less expensive things – in short cutting back on your spending. This may seem good and smart, but you’re just worsening the economy. So when you get your big tax break, go out and spend it on something you don’t need. For reals this time: this is Aardvarki, signing out.