Nonetheless, Paul Krugman makes a most delightful point to any economic recovery plan:
Let’s lay out the basics here. Other things equal, public investment is a much better way to provide economic stimulus than tax cuts, for two reasons. First, if the government spends money, that money is spent, helping support demand, whereas tax cuts may be largely saved. So public investment offers more bang for the buck. Second, public investment leaves something of value behind when the stimulus is over.
My question is, now that we have only the most ardent and conservative Republicans left to deal with in Congress, why is Obama betting that they will play ball even if he tries to appease them with these tax cuts? In fact, I bet this won't even begin to appease these lunatics...it will simply make them ask for more...and ultimately give them an excuse to suddenly become fiscally responsible. "Whoopsie, it was all spent on tax cuts, sorry!"
Democrats finally have a huge majority, minus one filibuster proof vote in the Senate now that Al Franken seems to have won. You mean to tell me that Obama and the rest of the Democrats can't find one other congressperson to vote their way and pass this stimulus package on their terms? Of course, it would have to be to the chagrin of those dipshit Republicans, who are proven economic failures, and who wouldn't know how to balance a budget if their lives depended on it anyway.
I was always suspicious of Obama's bipartisan attitude but he has been able to pull this thing off so far. Maybe all of these new green technologies and infrastructure projects will actually pan out like they should, regardless. Maybe he knows something we all don't know, but the Republicans - especially the most fervent maniacs that are left - are not going to make it easy on him. Personally, I would steamroll over Republicans like wet icky asphalt:
5 comments:
Great post CD. Obama will be making a big mistake if he equates bipartisanship with doing what the Republinuts want. He could cut taxes, end abortion, privatize the roads, gut Medicare, and still the Republicans would try to destroy him. Might as well get shit done that will help average Americans and say Fuck You to the wingnut Republicans.
Best hope we have is to be successful, court a few moderate Republicans, have a few wingnut Republicans lose in 2010, and reshape that party. Politics is a pendulum...it will swing the other way...the trick is to get the other side to come to the center and not be so fucking authoritarian.
All good questions CD. I'm beginning to become convinced thatthe dems are spineless little twits. We saw them cave to the repubs for 8 yrs and now, within their own ranks, we'/re about to see them accept the appointment from Blogojevich even after they all signed a letter and sent it to Blogo that specifically said they would NOT accept any one appointed by him.
I hope O Man knows WTF he is doing.
Hey Crystal - what about Morgan Stanley buying Citi Bank owned Smith Barney? That's where the bail out $$$ are going. Taxpayers are ripped off again.
The whole "purpose" and "need for urgency" of the bailout.. as espoused by our Treasury Secretary and W... was to make sure the banks kept lending money so that the "economy would not fail." Ya know, keep the cycle of money in the economy going. Instead, the banks are KEEPING/HORDING the money, not lending out, while we have to sit back and hope our economy still doesn't fail.
It's disaster capitalism at its finest and this is one of the biggest swindles in American history.
Capitalizm is not when the government bails out banks. Capitalism is when the government lets the banks fail. I don't see how you think this is "capitalism at its finest"? When it's blatently not capitalism.
As for your article, you should be happy Obama is actually raising taxes. See when politicians like Obama talk they are usually lying. If you remember he raised taxes on those that pay the most taxes and he only cut taxes on those that pay the least to zero taxes. When you weight his policies together he is actually raising taxes on the rich successful pigs.
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