| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
From MSN.com: Could The Wall Street Journal actually be admitting that the federal stimulus is working? That certainly seems to be the case. "Government efforts to funnel hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy appear to be helping the U.S. climb out of the worst recession in decades," the newspaper reported Wednesday. I wonder how painful this admission is for the Journal, which has been sharply critical of the stimulus package. Economists are starting to say the worst is over, and that the economy is growing above where it would be without a stimulus. The second quarter saw a contraction of only 1%; without a stimulus, that could have been as high as 3.2%. Now, the economy looks on track for positive growth in the third quarter. Still, some critics say that other programs were more effective than the stimulus. The Federal Reserve bought loads of Treasury debt and mortgage-backed securities, pumping cash into the financial system. The government engineered a massive bank bailout, in part to encourage banks to start lending again. In fact, much of the stimulus package hasn't even arrived yet. Only $60 billion of the $288 billion in scheduled tax cuts has come through, and $84 billion of the $500 billion in spending has been paid, the Journal reported. Stimulus spending is supposed to peak later this year or early next year, the Journal reported. Still, there appears to be little doubt that the economy is in recovery, and the stimulus -- love it or hate it -- has had a hand in that. But for many Americans still struggling to find a job, it won't feel like a recovery anytime soon. | ||
| Darthane |
I like this quote from Biden: "The Recovery Act is doing more, faster and more efficiently and more effectively than most people expected." ...which just goes to show how low our expectations have sunk. >.< | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Short answer : NO. Reason. It wasn't a stimulus bill in the first place. Action Indicated: watch a different TV channel. One where a declining economy and unemployment rising to record levels are not considered a sign of economic recovery. | ||
| Rfischer |
Well, if the "stimulus" has worked, "saved us from a depression" according to that moron that America has for a VP, then leave the roughly 80% of it as yet unspent in the Treasury. But what do you think the chances are of that, eh....? And, as for the massive bank bail-out, "to encourage banks to start lending again", most of the money never left the Federal Reserve Bank[s]. Is on deposit there by the recipients of the TARP funds. They have used it exclusively to shore up their balance sheets to meet capital-ratio requirements, while earning record-setting operational profits, or to buy out weaker rivals to gain market share. The good news is that the massive bail-out cannot possibly contribute to an inflationary spiral for the simple reason that it never left the Fed. The bad news is of course that the intended policy effect is mooted. Now the Swedes, who know a thing or 3 about fixing banking crises, have an interesting solution: they are charging interest to any bank that leaves stimulus/bail-out funds on deposit with the Central Bank. Penalizing those who would fail to use the money for the government's intended stimulus purposes. What do you think the chances are that 'ol Ben will do something similar? Un-huh... | ||
| Sifo |
Sure an MSNBC editorial has to explain what the WSJ is saying. Let WSJ say what they are saying. From your own editorial...
Beyond that it isn't a stimulus bill. It's a spending bill. There's a difference. The biggest employer of "new jobs" under this plan is the US Government. That's a huge problem! Most of what is being spent is on road construction. This either would have been done this year or in next few years (or it is unnecessary spending). We have just spent money today that we don't have, borrowing from tomorrows economy. Very shrewd business plan. I guess you could expect this kind of plan from someone who has never run anything in his life. BTW, my entire post is racist! | ||
| Xl1200r |
You're such a racist. Federal employees have rights, too, you know. Didn't you know Federal Employee is a race? | ||
| Sifo |
I hates Federal employeezzz!  | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Soon all PECTOPAH will be 'Taco Bell' Unite Brother federal workers, your glorious day will come, when we will indeed all toil under the name of the State. Never let activity, or transactions be confused with positive gain. Its called a balance sheet for a reason. | ||
| Rfischer |
and my favorite PECTOPAH is the Cafe Pushkin in Moscow. They do a to-die-for braised bear in lingonberry sauce. But, I digress from the weighty matters under discussion herein... | ||
| Cityxslicker |
mmmmm I cant wait, I will ping you when I get to Yaroslavl why do I feel like Homer Simpson at a donut store ? mmmmmm auuuauua lingonbeary Cnacu5o  | ||
| Indy_bueller |
I don't believe there is any possible way to prove that the stimulus worked. There is plenty to prove that it will have no effect though. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Oh, it's working great. Just take a look at unemployment. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Jobless today.......9.7%....just THINK how much worse it would have been without the stimulus.......but I don't particularly care to look at it that way. I think the whole problem is price rape.........everybody wants to make a million dollars.........few want to earn it. To "make" it,they jack up prices to feed the CEO's and stock holders,raping us all.I can name hundreds of examples...but you have all been raped on pricing one way or another......so I won't for now. | ||
| Crusty |
I have to say that those Communists over at the Wall Street Journal really distort the facts to fit their socialist agenda.  | ||
| Liquorwhere |
Crusty, Just a short piece of reason here, construction fuels the market, always has, always will, construction is down farther than I, my bosses, my brother(owns his own and teaches as CSU)have seen it. Period. Until infrastructure projects start to pop up without federal money, housing starts rise, construction workers are back to work fueling many different industries at once you won't see an lessening of this recessionary economy. You cannot borrow your way out of debt, it cannot be done. Inflation is rising, income dropping, taxes rising, wage gap widening, nothing is getting better, I don't even think we have seen the bottom yet. | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
Even with stimulous, tarp and the takeover of Government Motors the GM plant not too far from me shut down. Crime is going up around the area and there is a big trickle effect in the tooling industry. Iam so glad we dont do much automotive but I dont think we are in the clear. Listening to obama and van I think the real goal for alot of this money is green jobs. Go to the apollo alliance website and take a gander. Its almost like they think they will take people in the down trodden urban areas and put them to work creating energy. The problem is van jones is a major league idiot that couldnt jump start his own car. Greedy capitalists create and sustain jobs, come up with innovative ideas and find cures to the most troubling problems. Its common sense!!! |
