by Tina Grazier
The stimulus bill is on its way into the American experience. It was conceived and written by democrats in power lead by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and President Obama. Have you heard about the alternative stimulus plan that Republicans offered for consideration? No? Im not surprised. It was roundly rejected and deemed not worthy of consideration because, tah dah….I won, as the President declared.
Bipartisanship, you see, isnt about republicans and democrats tossing ideas into a hat, debating the merits of each, and constructing a bill comprised of those ideas that are best suited to accomplishing the stated goal of stimulating the economy. Bipartisanship, a la the donkey party, is about allowing republicans to witness and bless a bill conceived and constructed from democrat ideas alone. Oh yes, they were expected to bless it or be accused of obstruction. (another example of mangling the language)
All but three very liberal republicans declined to participate in this sham of a process that will result in horrendous burdens on Americas future generations and do little to stimulate the economy. So when democrats and the press characterize this bill as a bipartisan effort dont you believe it. There is nothing bipartisan about it. Democrats worked desperately to get those three RINO votes just to cover their own sorry rear ends when all that pork begins to stimulate greater economic misery.
The policies that will soon make their way to the presidents desk belong to the Democrat Party. This is a democrat special interest, pet projects bill. We the people deserve, at the very least, to know what the republican alternative was so that when inflation looms, business is choked off, everything from energy to white bread is increasingly expensive, and malaise sets in, the people will know that republicans did not want this to happen and in fact voted against it.
The republican alternative:
U.S. Senate Republican rival stimulus plan Reuters
** Tax Provisions: For one year, cut in half to 3.1 percent payroll tax for all U.S. employees. Cost: $165 billion. *** Lower the 10 percent income tax bracket to 5 percent and the 15 percent bracket to 10 percent for one year. Cost: $60 billion. *** Slash the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent for a year. For small businesses filing as individuals, their tax bracket would also go down to 25 percent from 35 percent. Cost: $50 billion. *** Offer in 2009 to homebuyers a tax credit of $15,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less. Cost: $20.4 billion. *** Spending Provisions: Extend unemployment insurance benefits and food stamps through 2009 and eliminate taxes on unemployment benefits for the same time period. Cost: $48.15 billion. *** Use federal money to discourage mortgage servicers and lenders from executing home foreclosures. Cost: $11 billion. *** Grants to states to build and repair roads and bridges. $65 billion. *** Improve, repair and modernize Defence Department facilities. Order and/or repair equipment, vehicles, material and ammunition for combat troops. $17 billion. *** Grants to states to make investments in public transportation systems. $3 billion. *** Grants for airports to build new runways, install runway safety equipment and other infrastructure projects. Cost: $1.1 billion. *** Other provisions: All spending programs would end three years after the legislation became law. *** To move towards reducing the budget deficit, after two consecutive quarters of more than 2 percent of inflation-adjusted gross domestic product growth, spending provisions from the stimulus package that has not been spent or obligated would be cancelled. Additionally, there would be a 2 percent across-the-board spending reduction to help balance the budget by 2015. *** Establish commissions to review Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. *** SOURCE: Republican Senators John McCain, John Thune, Mel Martinez, Lindsey Graham, and Richard Burr. **
The republican plan is a stimulus plan, not a pork plan. The tax proposals offered would have put money into the hands of Americans giving immediate assistance and relief to the working poor, those out of work, and those who create lasting jobs in the private sector. It offered assistance to those threatened with the loss of their homes. It addressed infrastructure needs that would have improved conditions and assisted industries that are vital to growth. The plan would have taken a short term, mid-term and long term approach to economic recovery and vitality. It included sunshine clauses that would have ended temporary tax cuts and spending deemed no longer necessary. And by the way, the price tag was about half ($445 billion) of what democrats propose with the promise to generate new revenue, rather than simply spend revenue.
It should also be noted as we go forward that steps we have already taken, along with the natural course that recessions always take, are beginning to move the economy in a positive direction…proving, once again, that doing very little, or nothing, works best. Last September President Bush told us we would see the beginning of an improving economy in about six months. He was accurate:
A Tale Of Two Indicators Jobs And Stocks, by Lawrence Kudlow
** Mustard seeds planted a while back are now pointing to economic recovery. The huge energy tax cut is one such mustard seed. The related inflation collapse is another. *** By the way, in Friday’s jobs report, wages rose again, and now stand nearly 4% higher than a year ago. With zero inflation, that’s a real increase in worker purchasing power for the 92.4%, or 135 million workers, still employed. *** Then, of course, the Federal Reserve has been pumping in money to offset credit and asset deflation. The old Milton Friedman M2 money measure has grown by $590 billion since early September for a 20% annual rate of increase. *** In the short-run, as money rises and GDP declines during a recession, the turnover (or velocity) of money plunges. But the use of money eventually picks up, which means all that new M2 growth is going to stimulate the economy this year and by a whole lot more than the goofy stimulus bill now before Congress. *** Monetary lags are long and variable. But the money supply historically kicks in somewhere between six and 12 months. Through January we’ve had five months of money stimulus. (GWB told us it would take at least six months for the economy to begin to turn around) **
The Obama democrat cabal is about to toss ice cold water on whatever hopes for real recovery we may have had.
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Just for fun heres today’s fitting parting shot. One web dictionary offers the following definitions for the donkey, symbol of the Democrat Party: 1. the domestic ass, Equus asinus, 2. (since 1874) a representation of this animal as the emblem of the U. S. Democratic(Democrat) Party, and 3. a stupid, silly, or obstinate person.
Works for me!