Dot com bubble? Over stimulated stock market…
Housing bubble? Over stimulated housing market…
Debt bubble? Over stimulated credit market…
Negative savings rate? Over stimulated consumer…
Economic cycle? Hell NO! We can repeal that silly notion. We’ll never have another recession, not with Helicopter Ben and his sidekick, George Bush on watch, ready to do a little more stimulating.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big fan of taxes, and I believe the Bush tax cuts were the very thing that booted up the economy again after the Clinton years and the deep shock of 9/11. I am a big fan of cutting taxes (and cutting government spending, even more). But the problems in the economy today are different, and the proposed $150 billion tax rebate plan that Bush is talking about today is just another big government liberal BS snow job. Seriously. Hillary only proposed $70 billion, and Obama proposed $75 billion. We have problems in the credit market that won’t be solved by throwing more cheap money at it. We have a weak dollar problem for much greater reasons than simply a tired consumer. And tax rebates aren’t going to ease the present unrest in the financial markets over which liberal or socialist will head our country after November, and just what kind of economic and business climate we’ll face.
For the last six years we’ve heard nothing but complaining about the Bush tax cuts, to the point that it doesn’t appear likely they’ll be made permanent. Do you think the markets haven’t noticed that, and are concerned about the big tax increase coming when these cuts expire? Do you think a tax rebate plan will really make a difference, when a number of more liberally controlled states are raising taxes? And precisely what good will an $800 rebate do the week after it’s been spent? Will any family be better off? Will taxes be lower? Will credit cards be paid off? Will jobs be more secure? Will anyone have more money in the bank? Will 1/2 of 1% of the national economy really make a difference? No. Duh.
Any stimulus package without a provision to make the Bush tax cuts permanent would be nothing more than an election year joke. A little “walking around money” if you know what I mean. Any stimulus package without a huge amount of pork hidden in it would be a miracle to boot, especially after the porkfest Congress had this year. Any stimulus plan that doesn’t include spending cuts somewhere else in the budget will only blow the budget, and the economy, even further out of balance. And because any stimulus package that can be passed quickly in this current political climate is a pipe dream, I’m not going to hold my breath.
“This is not a stimulus,” Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, in an effort to remain relevant. “They’re not timely. They’re not targeted and they’re not temporary. So they don’t meet the standard in any way. What we want to do is come together on something … that will stimulate the economy.”
What would really help this economy? Knowing we won’t have a big taxing, big spending President and pork-addicted Congress for the next 4 or 8 years. Having a true leader in the White House, instead of a wet-finger-in-the-air-focus-group-led liberal. Smaller government, concentrating on national security, building infrastructure, and facilitating business and individual freedom would be a big help. A willingness to suck it up, do the hard things, and let the market forces work correctly would also go a long way to shoring up a currently weak foundation.
“Stimulating the economy” by doing shell games and hat tricks with taxpayer money is a sad joke. I’ll be so glad for November.
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