by Mark Silva
President Barack Obama, winning a $787-billion stimulus for an ailing economy within his first month in office, today called the measure "a major milestone on our road to recovery.''
The president plans to swiftly sign the measure approved late Friday night by the Senate, following its passage by the House earlier in the day - clearing Congress largely along party lines.
"I will sign this legislation into law shortly,'' Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address this morning, "and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done.''
Although Obama had courted Republicans to support the plan, it passed the House on Friday by 246-183 without a single Republican vote, and it passed the Senate by 60-38 with the help of just three Republican senators. Republicans have denounced the president's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as too laden with big spending and too short on tax relief.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), delivering the Republican Party's radio and Internet response to the president today, said: "Republicans have been supportive of a stimulus plan all along. Yet, over the past few weeks, a serious difference of opinion has emerged over what an economic recovery plan should include. Democrats, it seems, settled on a random dollar amount in the neighborhood of $1 trillion and then set out to fill the bucket.''
The votes capped a week in which Obama had traveled through four states in the promotion of his plan - from Elkhart, Ind., where unemployment has passed 15 percent, to Fort Myers, Fla, where the economy has taken a tough toll on the housing market, to Springfield, Va., where work is underway on a new parkway serving a national security facility, and to East Peoria, Ill., where the Caterpillar company has laid off workers but hopes to rehire them with federal help.
"This week, I spent some time with Americans across the country who are hurting because of our economic crisis,'' Obama said today. "Families losing the homes that were their stake in the American Dream. Folks who have given up trying to get ahead, and given in to the stark reality of just trying to get by.
"They've been looking to those they sent to Washington for some hope at a time when they need it most,'' the president said. "This morning, I'm pleased to say that after a lively debate full of healthy difference of opinion, we have delivered real and tangible progress for the American people.''
See the rest of the story below, the addresses above and below and the full texts on the following page.
The stimulus approved by Congress will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs, he said, reiterating a promise that was central to passage of the plan.
"This is a major milestone on our road to recovery,'' the president said this morning, "and I want to thank the Members of Congress who came together in common purpose to make it happen.''
The measure provides money for road-building and new bridges as well as schools and expansion of Broadband networks to rural communities. It offers money to computerize health care records as well as money for alternative energy generation with wind-powered turbines and insulation for a million homes.
It also extends and boosts federal unemployment benefits for those without work and pumps more money into the federally and state-funded Medicaid for low-income and disabled Americans.
And it provides an estimated $280 billion in tax relief.
"Some fear we won't be able to effectively implement a plan of this size and scope, and I understand their skepticism,'' Obama said today. "Washington hasn't set a very good example in recent years. And with so much on the line, it's time to begin doing things differently...''
The White House is establishing a Web-site, www.recovery.gov, to track the spending.
"This historic step won't be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but the beginning,'' he said. "The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread. Our response must be equal to the task.
"For our plan to succeed, we must stabilize, repair, and reform our banking system, and get credit flowing again to families and businesses,'' the president said. "We must write and enforce new rules of the road, to stop unscrupulous speculators from undermining our economy ever again. We must stem the spread of foreclosures and do everything we can to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes.''
Looking ahead to his proposal of a new federal budget for 2010, the president notes that the accrued national debt has doubled in the past eight years - indeed the act passed by Congress raises the authorized ceiling on the federal debt to $12 trillion.
It's necessary, Obama said today, "in order to jumpstart our sick economy. But our long-term economic growth demands that we tame our burgeoning federal deficit; that we invest in the things we need, and dispense with the things we don't. This is a challenging agenda, but one we can and will achieve.''
The nation "will prove equal to this task,'' he said. "It will take time, and it will take effort, but working together, we will turn this crisis into opportunity and emerge from our painful present into a brighter future.''
Here is the text of the president's address:
"This week, I spent some time with Americans across the country who are hurting because of our economic crisis. People closing the businesses they scrimped and saved to start. Families losing the homes that were their stake in the American Dream. Folks who have given up trying to get ahead, and given in to the stark reality of just trying to get by.
They've been looking to those they sent to Washington for some hope at a time when they need it most.
This morning, I'm pleased to say that after a lively debate full of healthy difference of opinion, we have delivered real and tangible progress for the American people.
Congress has passed my economic recovery plan - an ambitious plan at a time we badly need it. It will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, ignite spending by business and consumers alike, and lay a new foundation for our lasting economic growth and prosperity.
This is a major milestone on our road to recovery, and I want to thank the Members of Congress who came together in common purpose to make it happen. Because they did, I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done.
The work of modernizing our health care system, saving billions of dollars and countless lives; and upgrading classrooms, libraries, and labs in our children's schools across America.
The work of building wind turbines and solar panels and the smart grid necessary to transport the clean energy they create; and laying broadband internet lines to connect rural homes, schools, and businesses to the information superhighway.
The work of repairing our crumbling roads and bridges, and our dangerously deficient dams and levees.
And we'll help folks who've lost their jobs through no fault of their own by providing the unemployment benefits they need and protecting the health care they count on.
Now, some fear we won't be able to effectively implement a plan of this size and scope, and I understand their skepticism. Washington hasn't set a very good example in recent years. And with so much on the line, it's time to begin doing things differently.
That's why our goal must be to spend these precious dollars with unprecedented accountability, responsibility, and transparency. I've tasked my cabinet and staff to set up the kind of management, oversight, and disclosure that will help ensure that, and I will challenge state and local governments to do the same.
Once the plan is put into action, a new website - Recovery DOT gov - will allow any American to watch where the money goes and weigh in with comments and questions - and I encourage every American to do so. Ultimately, this is your money, and you deserve to know where it's going and how it's spent.
This historic step won't be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but the beginning. The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread. Our response must be equal to the task.
For our plan to succeed, we must stabilize, repair, and reform our banking system, and get credit flowing again to families and businesses.
We must write and enforce new rules of the road, to stop unscrupulous speculators from undermining our economy ever again.
We must stem the spread of foreclosures and do everything we can to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes.
And in the weeks ahead, I will submit a proposal for the federal budget that will begin to restore the discipline these challenging times demand. Our debt has doubled over the past eight years, and we've inherited a trillion-dollar deficit - which we must add to in the short term in order to jumpstart our sick economy. But our long-term economic growth demands that we tame our burgeoning federal deficit; that we invest in the things we need, and dispense with the things we don't. This is a challenging agenda, but one we can and will achieve.
This morning, I'm reminded of words President Kennedy spoke in another time of uncertainty. "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks."
America, we will prove equal to this task. It will take time, and it will take effort, but working together, we will turn this crisis into opportunity and emerge from our painful present into a brighter future. After a week spent with the fundamentally decent men and women of this nation, I have never been more certain of that. Thank you.''
Here is the text of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's Republican response:
"As I speak to you today, Americans from Alaska to Florida are grappling with a very difficult economy. Over the past 14 months, more than 3.6 million workers have lost their jobs, half of them since October. Over the same three-month period, the U.S. economy experienced its worst quarterly decline in 26 years. This is why President Obama called on Congress some weeks ago to pass an economic stimulus plan that would seek to jumpstart the economy and to prevent, as best it could, an even deeper economic spiral.
"Republicans have been supportive of a stimulus plan all along. Yet, over the past few weeks, a serious difference of opinion has emerged over what an economic recovery plan should include. Democrats, it seems, settled on a random dollar amount in the neighborhood of $1 trillion and then set out to fill the bucket. Republicans, on the other hand, thought that we should figure out what was at the root of the problem, and then see how much it would cost to fix. Since most economists agree that falling home prices are the root of the current troubles, we proposed a plan that would reduce monthly mortgage payments and make it easier to buy a home. The Republican proposal had the added benefit of being about half the cost of the Democrat plan. But Democrats control Congress, which means they got to choose which approach to use. And earlier this week, they hashed out the final details of a bill that, as some of them like to point out, was written almost entirely by them.
"All Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, want our economy to recover. The question is: Will this plan work? In this regard, the President's own top economist, Larry Summers, has said that in order for a stimulus plan to work, it must be timely, targeted, and temporary. And, in many ways, the plan that Democrats in Congress approved this week is none of the above. It's not timely because less than half the discretionary spending in this bill will reach its intended target within the next two years. It's not targeted because much of the money isn't even directed where it's needed most. Much of the spending is wasteful, including hundreds of millions for new government cars and golf carts. And some of it places new burdens on already-strapped local and state governments. One Alaska school superintendant said that the increased funding means new services in his district, but that once the stimulus funding runs out he won't be able to pay for them. And canceling some of these programs once they've been created, he said, would expose his district to lawsuits.
"Finally, the bill isn't temporary because it calls for a permanent expansion of government that could add hundreds of billions of dollars to the federal budget every year.
"All of this is cause for serious concern. But Republicans are also concerned about this bill because we simply don't have the money to waste. Keep in mind: the $1.1 trillion we spend on the stimulus is not Monopoly money -- all of it is borrowed. Some might say the total cost of this bill is lower than $1.1 trillion. They're not including the interest payments.
"Where is all of this money going to come from? Well, the government pays its bills by selling promissory notes and by printing money. Who will buy these notes? They will be bought by countries that already hold enormous sums of U.S. debt -- countries like China. And remember, this is just one part of the recovery plan Democrats are proposing. The other parts, as outlined this week by Treasury Secretary Geithner, include $50 billion for housing, and unspecified hundreds of billions -- possibly even another trillion dollars -- for troubled banks, and to relieve financial institutions of so-called toxic assets. All this spending adds up, and has to be paid back -- paid back by our children and their children. And, as of now, the American people don't have the facts about the total cost.
"As a mother, I can say from experience that it doesn't make much sense to plan the family vacation before you figure out whether you can afford it. Yet that's just what Democrats seem to be doing. If Americans can't be assured that these programs will work, they should at least be told what they're going to cost. Taxpayers need to know what Washington is doing with their money. And as Republicans continue to pursue policies that strengthen our economy and create jobs, we'll insist that taxpayers aren't only protected -- but also well informed. Republicans in Congress have pledged to work with the majority party. It's my hope that they take us up on our offer as we closely monitor how and where this money is spent.
"Thanks for listening."
Comments
No one should forget where Obama comes from. He comes from the Marxist enclave in south side Chicago. He was a gifted practitioner of Alinsky method of social agitation.
And what did Alinsky say?
In Rules for Radicals Alinsky writes, “There’s another reason for working inside the system. Dostoevsky said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution.”
I think this is what Barack is doing with his traveling road show of Misery in America.
Projecting people’s most personal challenges for nationwide broadcast .. tales of the most sad woe and personal misery… beaming around the world. People in misery decrying their condition…
. and all of it to say “America’s systems have failed”
Clearly there are problems.. I am not denying that. nor am I saying these folks are lying (though I have to remain skeptical of everything i see on TV). but what in the world is the President of hte US doing ? Why is he wasting his time with this? The actual job a President does is adminsistering the Exec branch.. the exec branch implements the law. The law is set by Congress based on the People’s need (allegedly)
He’s alinskinig… he’s doing all he can to get people to want the US to trash our Constitution and Liberty and become socialist or worse.
And I believe they're going to do all they can to crash our system.
Posted by: Vince P | February 14, 2009 9:30 AM
"...he’s doing all he can to get people to want the US to trash our Constitution and Liberty."
Posted by: Vince P
Thanks Vince. A perfect description of George Bush....
Posted by: rupert | February 14, 2009 9:47 AM
vince--the repugs began giving failing banks money. how is continuing that 'left'?
SINCE FDIC BAILED OUT THESE GUYS BEFORE TARP 1 --WHY DON'T WE OWN THEM NOW?
Posted by: get your ideology straight | February 14, 2009 10:01 AM
thin ice
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/02/is_the_united_states_an_oligar.html
Posted by: Don't be fooled. | February 14, 2009 10:19 AM
Any member of Congress who voted for this outrageous stimulus package,
should be voted out of office!. The fact that anyone could vote for this give away without even reading it, is just so much b.s.. If the American people had any real power, we would be able to recall these irresponsible legislators. They just spoon feed their followers with so much pablum. Its no wonder that there status is one step below a used car salesman.
Posted by: Paul | February 14, 2009 10:42 AM
Better put-
Major mielstone to Democratic Greed.
Posted by: Inkkt | February 14, 2009 10:52 AM
Ideology straight - how about getting your facts straight - a higher % and # of democrats voted for the TARP than Republicans. Included in the democrats that voted for TARP is BO and Biden and Hillary.
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That is bipartiasnship and we have seen the failure it was.
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Will the spending stop when the economy is back on its feet? How will we know when the economy is back on his feet? Is it when 3-4 million jobs are created or saved? How does one count a saved job?
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The economy would have been back on its feet by the 4th qtr of this year if nothing was done - just based upon history, pent up consumer demand would have started to juice the economy. We will see if this works as well as supply-side tax cuts that created the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th longest economic growth cycles in America since 1850.
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Welocm back to the Carter years
Posted by: Terry | February 14, 2009 11:01 AM
The fact that anyone could vote for this give away without even reading it, is just so much b.s..
Posted by: Paul | February 14, 2009 10:42 AM
After you read it....what parts don't you like?
Posted by: bill r. | February 14, 2009 11:03 AM
Have you ever stained a dried-out, scorched-in-the-sun-for-years wooden deck? The first application is absorbed so quickly it almost doesn't look as though it's been stained at all. The wood literally drinks up the stain as fast as you apply it. In order for this exercise to be beneficial at all, it usually requires two or three applications.
The dried out deck is the U.S. economy and the stain is over $900 billion that will be absorbed as quickly as it is distributed. And then each month and quarter we will wait and watch for signs. Signs that the economy has stopped contracting. Signs that jobless claims are retreating. We have to stop this runaway train from going south before it can begin to travel north again. And that takes time - and patience.
Last Saturday, in an effort to come to a resolution about applying stain to this economy, Congress was in session. And at least one Senator made the point that this would not be a quick fix. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) appealed to her colleagues for patience - a much needed virtue during this current American Crisis. The last major American Crisis lasted almost 16 years - from October 29, 1929 to August 14, 1945. No one can predict the length and depth of this Crisis, but it won't be quick and recovery will most likely be measured in years for a number of reasons:
A mature U.S. economy. The economy is mature and has been growing at ever-decreasing rates since the 1960s. The U.S. economy is mostly made up of mature corporations, which translates into mature industries, and roll up into mature sectors. Sure there are less-mature growth segments, but they are either not big enough yet (biotech) or are not growing fast enough, or strong enough to greatly impact a $14.3 trillion economy. This makes recovery much harder.
A major consumer mindshift. Consumers have slammed on the spending brakes. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCEs) make up about 70 percent of U.S. GDP. The rate of PCE growth has been in decline since the 1960s (1960s-4.44%, 1970s- 3.51%, 1980s-3.30%, 1990s-3.25%, 2000s-2.82%) and that decline has only accelerated during the 2000s. Over the last five years, the rate of PCE growth has gone from 3.6% in 2003 to 0.3% in 2008 - with the last two quarters of 2008 registering negative growth rates. And early signs for 2009 do not look good. The U.S. auto industry - coming off its worst year ever - sold almost 40% fewer cars in January 2009 that it did in January 2008. The bottom line: consumers have reined in spending - probably the right thing for them to do personally, but crippling to the economy.
As the largest generation in history ages, it leaves its days of conspicuous consumption behind it. As Boomers retire and/or die, an enormous PCE engine dies with them, replaced by younger generations that get by on less and are increasingly choosing a life built on quality, not quantity. They watched their Boomer parents kill themselves as productivity machines in exchange for more money and a higher standard of living. Just as Boomers did not want to live the lives their parents did, Gen Xers and Millennials do not want to live the lives their Boomer parents did.
So to echo the call of Arkansas Senator Lincoln, we all must be patient. But combined with patience we need to concurrently redefine the measurement of success on so many levels. Our economy must not be measured against historical levels going forward or we will be terribly disappointed for a very long time. It's time to adjust expectations and build a better life on less - a lesson that companies such as General Motors have remarkably yet to learn.
The U.S. economy is no longer a heel-clicking youngster. It's our aging uncle who sometimes falls asleep on the couch when he comes to visit. He may not be capable of running the New York Marathon anymore, but we don't love him any less and we make the most of the time we have left with him.
We will get through this economic winter and on to a glorious spring of expansion. But don't look for the economic equivilent of groundhog Punxsutawney Phil to accurately forecast an early spring. Winter is here and we'd better get used to it.
TOM OSENTON in Chicago
Posted by: TOM OSENTON | February 14, 2009 11:20 AM
I wish the ridiculous Republicans would stop with " didn't read the bill " nonsense !! It just didn't drop from heaven. Congress has been working with the ideas, embodied in the final product, for months, if not years. It is another nonsensical pose by the incompetent Republican, in search of an idea, any idea !!! If you didn't read the package, how can you criticize it !! Go on, you bankrupt Party, go find your bearings. You have and continue to embarrass yourselves, and America !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, America | February 14, 2009 11:24 AM
Mr Silva,
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Is that headline suppose to read "Milestone" or Millstone"?
Posted by: Terry | February 14, 2009 12:34 PM
The GOoPer's just voted against the biggest middle-class tax relief package in American history? Are you kidding me? This is manna from heaven. It's like taking fire out from under the eyes of a watchful Zeus. It completely changes the electoral equation for House and Senate races in 2010.
But it's not just that: the GOoPer's voted against the biggest MIDDLE-CLASS tax cut in American history, after voting FOR Bush's gigantic tax cuts for the rich. The 2010 campaign ads just write themselves.
HAHAHA!!!
Posted by: Blinky | February 14, 2009 1:22 PM
Betting against the American economy is a suckers bet and the Repukes have not only taken that bet, they've doubled down it.
Posted by: Teresa | February 14, 2009 1:25 PM
I was so hoping that John Boner would break down and start crying again when giving that final "how dare they treat us Repukelicans like we aren't in charge anymore" whining screed before he was dragged off the House floor. I really wish "Spray-tan" Boner would just pull that flask of Crown Royal he keeps in his side pocket, and take a few swigs of it during those 'Spend Spend Spend (but not on the American people, but on our Rich Lobbyist Friends and Halliburton Associates) tantrums. The clown Repukelicans not only read the bill, they also have plenty of 'staff' people that work for them and go over the bills with a fine tooth comb, then write a 'brief' for the Senator/Congressman (kind of like Cliff notes).
..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGoYOSomKLw
President Obama needs to keep going out directly to the American public, because no one does the Bully Pulpit like he does, and that is how we will win, and leave the 'Liars and Cry Babies' like Boner in the dust.
Posted by: Hulk Smash! | February 14, 2009 1:55 PM
"The economy would have been back on its feet by the 4th qtr of this year if nothing was done"
Posted by: Terry
Hahahaha
That's one the Congressional Republicans didn't even use.
Good one, Terry.
Posted by: Flo | February 14, 2009 4:36 PM
Someone mentioned it, the Stimulus bill, being worked on for a while.
So does that mean President Obama put on a dog and pony show, knowing he only needed to turn a couple of votes from the Republicans, because the Bill, was created without the House minority input. Remember it was a bipartisan vote opposing the "bill".
So when the President went to the "hill" in a goodwill gesture was it all bull. Something the Press could say isn't he wonderful, look how he's reaching out, yet the deal was done. All he needed was liberal Republican votes buying into the whole entitlement thing.
Posted by: PG | February 14, 2009 4:52 PM
The Taliban....I'm sorry, I mean the Republicans...just aren’t serious about addressing the problems that they had a huge part in causing. There is no plan to help homeowners, there is no plan to help the middle class, there is, frankly, no plan other than to cynically oppose everything to try and reverse their sinking political fortunes.
Americans have wised up to the Republican fake outrage noise machine. And they are too distracted by their own precarious situations to be distracted by fake outrage over things that more often than not don’t even exist – and if they do exist, they won’t put food on American families’ tables or find them a job. The Republican fake outrage list grows longer by the day, and the fear of: "brown people/teh gayz/teh librulz/socialism/nationalization" or whatever else has been played out too long. If anyone even cares one bit about Judd Gregg withdrawing his name from consideration as Commerce Secretary, it will be more along the lines of "just another example where Obama reached out to republicans and was smacked away" – NOT the other way around.
Outside of "their base"...the deep deep south, Americans know that the republican Party is full of crap and cynically putting their own political survival over the best interest of millions of families. Americans know that it was their failed policies that have led us to this point and Americans don’t want to hear finger pointing or see political theater from them anymore. The republican party was trounced in 2006 and 2008 for a reason. And if they continue to be hypocrites and grandstand as opposed to getting serious, they will get trounced in 2010-12 as well – regardless of what happens with the economy. Maybe then, they will learn to get serious as the ranks of their hypocritical posers thins out and gets marginalized further.
Posted by: Johnny Knoxville | February 14, 2009 5:00 PM
Bipartisanship: it's worth noting that 28 House Democrats and 12 Senate Democrats voted for the final passage of Bush's big tax cut in 2001. (And remember, too, that Bush had barely won the presidential election the year before.) The size of that 2001 tax-cut package? $1.35 trillion.
And tax cuts are debt just as much as spending. And another trillion of war debt.
Posted by: MM | February 14, 2009 5:50 PM
Isn't there one Democrat out there with ability to write like a mature adult?
It's embarrassing reading the drivel and hate from the Angry Left. You people are really one big joke. Like a bunch of hyenas.
Posted by: Vince P | February 14, 2009 6:08 PM
Wow, "Taliban". Congratulations to all the Republicans and Independents reading these posts who voted for Obama your being continually insulted/trashed for your vote.
In the view of the genius above, your "terrorists". And those Democrats who didn't vote for Obama, I guess that makes you a "terrorist" as well. So with the continued insults from these #%#%#%#%# 's who have a different opinion than you, your a terrorist.
Posted by: PG | February 14, 2009 6:12 PM
* * * * *
Posted by: Johnny Knoxville | February 14, 2009 5:00 PM
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Speaking of lies, hypocrisy, and fake outrage, show me where the stimulus bill makes any provision to help people out with their troubled mortgages. Unless you’re in the armed forces, you’re just SOL on that score. So where is all the relief to families holding on by their fingertips?
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The Republican alternate plan included a provision that would have permitted homeowners to refinance their homes with lower priced, government backed loans. The Republicans were also in favor of dropping the lowest two tax brackets. That would have been relief where it was needed. In fact, we will never recover until the country somehow addresses the housing and mortgage crisis. Until we do, people will continue to lose their homes, the banks will continue to be tight-fisted with loans, the toxic paper held by financial institutions is going to get more toxic, and the economy will continue to hemorrhage and spiral out of control regardless of how much money we throw at the problem.
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You are a liar and a hypocrite, Johnny, for claiming that the Republicans have shown no concern for the little guy. Keeping people in their homes and cutting their taxes would surely have helped them. Your outrage is also misdirected against the Republicans. Try getting angry at the Democrats for not helping people stay in their houses. Get angry at them for putting their ideology ahead of well being of people who want to stay in their homes and work for a living. Get mad at people who want to hand out a pick and a shovel to some people while they tell them their families can live in tents and cardboard boxes.
Posted by: John W. | February 14, 2009 8:18 PM
What planet do these Dems live on? It wasn't the Republicans that created and forced the CRE on the banking/mortgage system, nor created, nor oversaw Fannie and Freddie.
And to top it all off, when someone like Geithner opens his mouth, the Stock Market plummets...yes, Comrades, that's not Republican Monopoly money...that's real money invested in real companies, and that means that real working people will lose their jobs.
I'm starting to think that the vast majority of "Democrats" posting on the 'net are (pick one or more): Communists, foreigners, ACORN employees, non-military retirees, government employees (the private job sector is of little concern to them), living on SSI, or college students.
Posted by: Rojer Ramjet | February 14, 2009 9:31 PM
Blinky - $13/week is the biggest middle class tax cut in history. This isn't as big as the rebate check the Bush sent out (wrongly I may add) in 2008.
Flo,
Longest previous recession since WW2 only lasted 16 months, If BO did nothing, I don't think this would last more than 2 years - but need something, so now we are screwed
Posted by: Terry | February 14, 2009 9:45 PM
Rojer - the movie "Red Dawn" was not real. The "commies" threat was sold to you and the rest of the sleepwalking public because the economists that actually shaped US direction needed to keep open the Far East markets. See after WWII, the US pumped tons of money into rebuilding Europe and Japan so we could have nations buy the products that we were manufacturing - a lesson learned after the end of WWI, when we let the Germans fester and print their own $$$ into meaningless paper. Now, how would we have been able to convince the American public that Korea and subsequently Viet Nam was more about keeping Far East trading ports open to our fairly-new-rebuilt partner Japan......hmmmm how about selling the "Red Threat"? Sounds better than " hey send our American boys over to these foreign countries to protect our investment" - doesn't it?
Problem with the philosophy is that people like yourself and Joe McCarthy actually believed the ridiculous story and ran with it, making such a life's drive out of the cover. funny though and mildly entertaining.
Posted by: karl | February 14, 2009 10:17 PM
In the view of the genius above, your "terrorists". And those Democrats who didn't vote for Obama, I guess that makes you a "terrorist" as well. So with the continued insults from these #%#%#%#%# 's who have a different opinion than you, your a terrorist.
Posted by: PG | February 14, 2009 6:12 PM
....
Here ya go "genius".
It was one of your own rightwing lunatic fringers who branded you with the "Taliban" name, and it fits you nuts perfectly.
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http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/05/sessions-gop-insurgency/
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Posted by: pla | February 14, 2009 11:06 PM
Posted by: John W. | February 14, 2009 8:18 PM
...
Nice try old man,
I see you're still on here trying to pump up that crap Repuglican ideology of yours again, the one that just got rejected by the American people...twice in row.
Your GOoPer team offered NOTHING!...nothing but a "plan" for more tax cuts for the rich and more deregulation.
The Repuglicans have just accomplished an amazing feat, they almost unanimously voted against the biggest middle class tax cut in history and with that, they've probably guaranteed themselves at least 20-25 years in the minority.
Go ahead and have the last word, psycho
Posted by: fake lawyer | February 14, 2009 11:19 PM
* * * * *
Posted by: fake lawyer | February 14, 2009 11:19 PM
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This is as easy as it gets to reply. This time, you are either willfully ignorant or lying JohnEEE-boy. It is a fact that the Republican plan included provisions to help distressed homeowners refinance their mortgages at a lower rate with government backed loans. It also provided cuts for income tax rates for workers earning up to $67,900. I didn’t know that people who made $67,900 a year or under were considered “rich” - as you suggest. In any event, the Democrats opposed these ideas. You can read about the alternate plan of the Republicans here:
http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=58a830c4-b841-4370-aea4-1e83ecc6f0a2
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So now you don’t have to be ignorant as well as obnoxious.
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As for the plan that passed, the Republicans didn’t like it because it really isn’t designed to create jobs or stimulate the economy. Even a number of Democrats who voted for it were concerned that it isn’t going to do what people are hoping for. Dianne Feinstein, my beloved Senator, is one of them. We’re just going to have to wait and see if it really does the trick. Just remember that the Democrats own this one. I’m not hoping for the government or the economy to fail, but it will be on the Democrats if the plan doesn’t have more than a minimal positive effect on the economy. Given that it does NOTHING to alleviate the major source of our economic woes - i.e. the housing market and mortgage meltdowns - I have my serious doubts.
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But you can go right ahead and be a mindless cheerleader, a hero worshipper, and have a few extra swigs of KoolAid. While you’re at it, keep reading the DailyKos for your utterly predictable, albeit boring and mindless talking points.
Posted by: John W. | February 15, 2009 12:13 AM
What planet do these Dems live on? It wasn't the Republicans that created and forced the CRE on the banking/mortgage system, nor created, nor oversaw Fannie and Freddie.And to top it all off, when someone like Geithner opens his mouth, the Stock Market plummets...yes
Posted by: Rojer Ramjet | February 14, 2009 9:31 PM
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Yes of course! The economic collapse was all the Democrats fault. How could I have been so ignorant as to think that the Republicans, who have owned the White House for the last eight years and controlled Congress for ten of the last twelve years, could possibly have had anything to do the current economic disaster?!?!
Thanks Rojer! Without your superior knowledge I would have NEVER known that the economic collapse was caused by the minority party Democrats of the last ten of twelve years who INSISTED that Republicans pass bills that would give big tax cuts to the rich, big corporations and big oil and then to top that off the Dems bullied Republicans into invading Iraq thus wasting billions and billions more of our money........
....you know, Repukelicans like "Rojer" are walking, talking proof of exactly how far removed from reality the average Repukelican minion is.
Posted by: oh noes! | February 15, 2009 12:14 AM
- $13/week is the biggest middle class tax cut in history. This isn't as big as the rebate check the Bush sent out (wrongly I may add) in 2008.
Posted by: Terry | February 14, 2009 9:45 PM
Terri?
Aren't you the "economic expert" who spent the last four years telling everyone how great the Bush economy was?
"BIGGEST. TAX CUT. EVER.... A few weeks ago, when the House approved the economic stimulus bill without any Republican votes, David Weigel noted that he literally couldn't remember "a time when the entire Republican conference in either house voted against tax cuts." "That's true, but let's go a little further. The compromise plan announced last night includes $282 billion in tax cuts over two years. With that in mind, Steven Waldman argues, persuasively, that when the vast majority of congressional Republicans oppose the package, they'll be voting against the biggest tax cut "in history."
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http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_02/016863.php
Posted by: Republican Oligarchy | February 15, 2009 12:28 AM
President Obama was elected to find solutions to our nation's pressing problems that were caused by the Bush Republicans. Obama and the majority Democrats need to implement the best possible solutions to those problems. If Republicans have genuinely good ideas (i.e., not their tired "tax cuts!" crap, especially now that Democrats have passed the largest tax cut in American history with zero Republican support), then fantastic. They can bring them to the table for due consideration. Otherwise, they shouldn't get a second thought from the adults actually trying to clean up George W. Bush and his Republican enablers messes.
Posted by: Hamburglar | February 15, 2009 2:01 AM
Oligarchy,
From your linked WSJ article, "Mr. Bush's 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut of 2001, considered the largest in history..."
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What part of $1.3 Trillion being greater than $282 billion don't you understand?
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If you want to contend that BO's packs more in 2 years than President Bush's tax cut make that point; but the fact remains the Bush tax cuts were larger, and will be more effective than BO's since they were considered "long-term".
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We will see if this Spendulus bill provides six years of economic growth
Posted by: Terry | February 15, 2009 8:40 AM
We will see if this Spendulus bill provides six years of economic growth
Posted by: Terry | February 15, 2009 8:40 AM
So you think that an economy growth based on false equity in the housing market is a good economy? The 2-3 trillion lost in home prices seem hardly like something to be proud of...but if that's all you have....go for it!
Posted by: bill r. | February 15, 2009 10:50 AM
Billy R,
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Do you think an economy based on false equity in the stock market is a good economy? That would be a silimar parallel to you lame arguement
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I think an economy based upon tax cuts to producers is a good economy. Tax cuts to those that create jobs.
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As far as your housing market argument - look at the root causes of this - lending money to those who couldn't pay it back. Why would a smart business man do that? Interference from the gov't to make these loans? How about knowing that a GSE had their back for these loans? Thank you Brothel Barney Frank and Chris "Friends of Angelo" Dodd.
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Went for it, got it.
Posted by: Terry | February 15, 2009 12:23 PM
Well another misguided genius, PLA.
Thank you for making my point, "I think for myself, which I continually mention here, responding to articles and posts.
You even gave me another link to check out, WHY. 1. I don't know if it's accurate. 2. I don't know if it's taken out of context.
3. Anyone who calls a Democrat/Republican/Independent a terrorist for having a different view/vote than yours should move to a Country where your silenced.
Posted by: PG | February 15, 2009 2:02 PM
The Democrats have no civility at all. They have the nerve to call other people "Taliban" if you listen to them , they'r ready to behead any Non-Democrat they could find.
They engage in bigotries, stereotypes, and slanders. They rarely dwell in the land of fact and are immune from any fact that contradicts their scripts.
Posted by: Vince P | February 15, 2009 6:51 PM
Pelosi and Obama took special effort to wipe out e-verify in the stimulus bill. They chose to give billions of American recession tax dollars away as jobs for illegal aliens. Why the hell not just incorporate Mexico into America. That way we can have tons of kidnappings all over America--as is done in Mexico. The e-verify thing is a scam and upsets me. This stimulus bill is stimulating Mexico, not America. What a farce and a flop. And I'm a Dem. Also, did Europe help write the bill so we are forced to buy steel from Europe? What a scam. I protest it all. The big Obama Change may be that he continues to give America away--just like Bush. BS BS BS BS BS.
Posted by: Vivian | February 15, 2009 10:47 PM
Vivian, if you're a Dem, then I'm the Queen of England. Where in the bill do you see about giving jobs to illegals?
The states are hurting..even the GOP governors are happy to get stimulus money. Yet you complain.
Posted by: Max | February 17, 2009 9:52 AM