Bush Band-Aid for Sick Economy

As the stock market continued to tank, as the credit mess continued to get messier, and as the housing market continued to go south... President Bush released a $145 Billion Plan with no specifics, no timetable, and no parameters. Well, he did go to his supply-side economics medicine cabinet and trotted out a request for tax cuts/incentives for businesses and his rich buddies, while also accepting the fact that normal people (i.e. the middle class that has been sustaining this sinking economy for the past 2-3 years) should also get a trifling token from the government trough.

The Washington Post reports that Bush laid out an economic rescue package only in broad strokes, saying the plan must be “built on broad-based tax relief” and “big enough to make a difference in an economy as large and dynamic as ours.” He did not use the word recession, but acknowledged that “there is a risk of a downturn.” The talking heads opined that his 1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) would come out to about $800 per taxpayer or $1600 per couple. In addition, he would want some additional tax cuts to spur growth. The plan is now to sit down with Congress and hammer out something more concrete in the coming weeks.

Glenn Beck writes an article for CNN.com where he lays out the areas that the Administration missed the warning signs of the impending recession: (1) slowing consumer spending (spending was down for Christmas, (2) increasing inflation (inflation rates are the highest in 17 years), (3) the credit crunch on the heels of the mortgage crisis, and (4) the housing slump where regional home values have been declining for the past 2 years! The stimulus package may be too late because so many leading indicators have already bit the BIG ONE!

And of course, the politicians have begun politicking. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York is quoted as saying, "I want to see money in the pockets of people who are having trouble paying their energy bills. That stimulates the economy. ... And then, if we need additional stimulation, we should look at tax rebates for middle-class and working families, not for the wealthy who have already done very well under George Bush." And Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin plans to vote for the plan even though he says, "I think it’s fine to send people their tax money back, but I don’t think it does much to generate economic growth[.] This wouldn’t be the first thing on my wish list."

Read the entire Washington Post article here.

Read the CNN article by Glenn Beck here.


plez sez: George W. Bush... a day late and a dollar short!

i don't know about your household, but if a check for $1600 shows up in plezWorld's mailbox, i can assure that it won't go to stimulate the economy (whatever in the HELL that means!). my wife will probably use it to finish painting the upstairs bedrooms and halls, and then we'll use the rest to catch up on some credit cards that got raped during the Holiday season. no one on my street will be using their $1600 to lower gas prices, or slow down inflation, or create jobs for single mothers facing foreclosure!

how many employers are going to hold off on next week's layoffs because of this news? NONE!

how many mortgage companies are going to wait for a couple to get their $1600 check in a couple of months instead of foreclosing on the property at the end of this month? NONE!

how many oil companies will use their tax break to ease the continued escalation of gas prices at the pump? oh, they'll just add that tax break to their growing coffers of windfall profits.

how many companies will see this short term band-aid approach as a compelling reason to stop sending jobs to countries that pay their workers a fraction of what they are paid in the U.S.? ha ha ha... i know mine won't! these companies get tax breaks and government handouts whether the jobs employ Americans or someone toiling away offshore.

just like the war in iraq, ole W aims his limp "weapon" at the wrong target. this may be one of those recessions that we'll have to ride out for the next year or so, because i assure you that this Bush Plan ain't the cure for what ails our economy.