Only 37% support the stimulus plan. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/pub...kage/support_for_stimulus_package_falls_to_37
O tried to use the same tactics that he used for years as an ACORN lawyer - - - intimidation and slick talk/style. - - The problem is that he has no business experience and an anti-business left leaning political philosophy. Unfortunately, these types don't get that government doesnt produce anything, it only takes from the private sector. You may see the result of such programs and think it great, - - but you fail to see what could have been built if that money hadn't been taken in the first place. A bill filled with a lib Dem wish list that doesn't actually help stimulate the economy won't do the trick in the end. Of course, the politicians only think in terms of the next election. Theyve got to appear to 'do something' no matter how bad in order to appeal to the scared and dumb electorate. The are now Republicans that have seemingly rediscovered the religion of fiscal conservatism. (Hmmmm, where were they when their guy Bush was spending like a mad man ?) Seems to me that the real answer is to let the market sort out the results of the Greenspan bubble, reduce taxes in a way that encourages real investment so that we can get back on the road to producing stuff that the rest of the world will actually want, and a reduction of government spending. Chance of any of this happening in the next 5 years or so ? Zilch.
"81% of Americans say the stimulus bill should be a bipartisan effort. Just 13% think it is okay for a bill to be passed with only the backing of the Democratic majority. There are signs that Americans are receptive to Republicansâ push to increase the proportion of tax cuts in the stimulus bill: Asked whether higher government spending or tax cuts for business would be more effective in ending the recession, 59% choose the tax cuts. Just 22% prefer more government spending⦠The public is not optimistic about the impact of the economic stimulus bill: Just 21% believe it will significantly shorten the recession. An additional 18% believe it will shorten the recession slightly. 45% percent say it will not shorten the recession at all."
When Bush was in office, did he pay attention to public opinion polls in making his policy? Especially in his second term... So if Bush paid no attention, did damn well whatever he pleased...then what is the problem with Obama doing the same? When the public opinion polls in 2000, you know...the popular vote went to Gore... See if you can figure out how a republic works. The pols have demonstrated for quite a long time that they do what they think is best, not what the people think is best... And if it doesn't work out, then the majority party gets voted out...just like we have seen with the repubs losing power over the past 8 years. If we don't like the system, change it, but there is nothing different in the system now than there was with all the previous presidents and the cons and sens... If in the 2010 and 2012 elections, people blame the dems than the repubs get another shot...
I agree with a lot of what you said - - - except that pols do what they think is best . . . For Them . . . for the next election. This is not restricted to one party over the next one, they both are guilty. - - Unfortunately, that usually means short term actions over what is best for the country in the long term. And, that's what got us in this terrible situation in the first place through Fed Reserve cheap money bubbles, govt deficit spending, trade deficits, etc, etc It is said that many of the spending in the 'stimulus' bill won't come on line till 2010 or 2011. Is that due to physical limitations inherent in some large projects . . . . or is it a political calculation to bring them on around election time ? Is it any wonder that some businesses are reluctant to make long term commitments & that one component of this is that they don't know which way the politcal winds will be blowing or how the pols will change the rules in the future ?
What exactly were the economic policies of Bush, other than his tax cuts, that were not simply continuations of Clinton? Simpletons will claim that the housing bubble was his fault but there isn't much republican about it. Greenspan was a HERO in the 90's under Clinton, and now when his free money policies fail he is somehow Bush's Dog. Tech Bubble under Clinton = good, housing bubble under Bush = bad... how dumb can you get? We have 60 years of evidence that Keynsian stimulus don't work too well. Bush gave out checks and that ended up solving nothing, Obama wants to write checks and he's a genius. The fact is he is no economics policy expert, he's a pretty cut and dried leftist. Economics is psychological, so a strong leader would be trying to encourage positive emotions. Instead Hussein keeps telling us how bad its gonna be for a long time. Why? I know why, he wants to avoid blame and responsibility for something he truly doesn't understand. That some weak crap there. Also the 'hurry up and pass this bill since there is no alternative' is bogus, there are an infinite number of alternatives. Why bother with republican support if you know you are right? Answer: to be able to say it was bipartisan if it fails.