No, it didn't work. Reagan cut taxes ONE time during his time in office and then raised taxes continually after that because the tax cut was so massive he had to adjust it over and over again. Check the facts. Trickle down economics is a joke. This return is part of a Legacy Burnishing, just like they're trying on Bush, but time away is helping. But don't get me side tracked. Still, last night there was a big board up on the Senate floor with the bullet points of Reagonomics. Oy.
What good is it going to do to give corporate tax breaks if there are no customers to keep businesses open? Republicans want tax breaks for families..... oh and singles, too. McCain, for example, thinks that government is inefficient in spending money so therefore it is up to the private sector to bring the economy back. Great in theory, but the private sector is tanking and thanks to greed mongers like Bernie Maddof, even the elite are taking a hit.
This is the GOP being the GOP. Unfortunately, Obama went too far in being bipartisan when he delivered the stimulus package. He's like the nice girl meeting "Mean Girls" who have lost their money but not their meanness, which is their power. As soon as the Republicans realized Obama was trying for a bipartisan victory, not just a victory, he gave them power, and they took it, and they've been gaining more every day. It took him a week to start asserting his presidential muscles in the news again, and now he's got a mess on his hands.
Unfortunately for Obama, the stimulus was left in the hands of Nancy Pelosi in the House, who's attitude towards bipartisanship was "We won," which only fanned the flames of "Oh yeah, well look what we can do to you anyway." Someone needs to tell her that you can be the big kid on the block and still be gracious.
The GOP's new battle cry is "This is a spending bill!" Well duh. That's what stimulus is all about. And of course the government is going to do it. They're the only one with money in this economy. And the statements that the Republicans, no matter what state they are from, that the bill is all pork you have to take with a grain of salt. The guidelines were that the projects had to be shovel ready (and that was 70%, last I heard), and governors were consulted as to what they needed in their states that keep people from losing jobs. For example, schools being built means teachers wouldn't be laid off, in addition to the construction jobs it creates. Is that pork for the education lobby? And by the way, even if whatever government department got a bunch of computers, which I'm sure they needed, wouldn't that mean a huge order for some business, and several manufacturing plants?
Stimulus means spending. Economists, without (D) pr (R) in front of their name, and one with "Nobel winning" in front of his, have said that money has to be spent to kick start this economy. In fact, they fear that the stimulus is far TOO SMALL. Our economy is huge, the largest in the world, and we're starting to penny pinch, in a manner of speaking. The figure the economists have thrown out that would be necessary to turn around the economy is 2.2 trillion, not even half of what Obama has proposed.
Oh, and banking. It was announced, or revealed which might be closer, last night by the congressional oversight committee that the amount that we were getting for our investment in the banks under Bush's secretary of the treasury Paulson was $66 for every $100. Paulson reported that we were getting "par" performance - basically $100 worth of investment for every $100 spent. But with independent audit, it was found that we paid $256 billion for stocks and warrants worth $176 billion under the TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program). That was under the GOP watch, and I use the term "watch" really loosely.
One of the first things Obama did was make the process transparent and put watchdogs in place. We're going to be getting more value for out money. We're on the board of directors now. Still, he has to start flexing his muscles and stop letting the mean kids try to pick on him. We chose him to lead him because we need hope and direction. We need a clear leader. When it gets murky and messy like this, we need someone to come in and spray things off and put things back in their place. The Republicans need to stop "politicking" and remember that we, the people are in desperate times and need something done now.
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