Let's get it right ... not do what we "feel"

Obama warns of need for stimulus bill right away

The Action Americans Need

Direct Excerpts:

What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis.

Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.

...

I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail.

...

So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time.

Comments:

1. I personally buy the need for an economic stimulus. I may be wrong and you may dispute this, but I start my comments with this basis.
   
2. No stimulus package is going to be perfect ... hey it's Washington ... need I say more.
   
3. I sometimes spend money imprecisely - eg tomorrow I am having work done on a furnace vent. I have an imprecise estimate. Kathee will be there and sign off. It may be $ 253 ... or $ 312. I'm OK with either or between. Government spending, organizational spending, and probably your wife's spending is the same way.
   
4. But before we spend A TRILLIION ... let's get it right.
   
5. Bush (blame it on intelligence (not his own ... the CIA, etc) did not get WMD right! We may have gone to war anyway, but 5 more months or even a year would have been nice to "get it right"!
   
6. Obama's editorial is fear mongering. Example: "if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse". Truth be told, if Washington did nothing ... in due time the economy would correct itself.
   
7. On his comment, "voted resoundingly for change". President Obama, we elected a President not a dictator. I didn't vote for you but I support you. I pray for you and I want to see you succeed! On the "change we can believe in" ... let's face it it's more of the partisan same! Lobbyists and tax scofflaws have been nominated by you to cabinet positions. That's not change!
   
8. This may not be the best way, but the absolute fastest way to give money back to the people (it is the peoples' money!) is for tax cuts. The stimulus bill as it stands is like Campbell's bean with bacon soup. Not much bean ... even less bacon and a lot of water! The proposed stimulus is like that ... a lot of fluff and not much stimulus.
   
9. The Republican minority can be your best friend, President Obama. Listen to them and negotiate with them. Don't expect them to roll over just because because people "voted resoundingly for change".
   
10. And my final point: Let's get it right. This is not chump change we are talking about ... this is A TRILLION DOLLARS. Washington has a long history of waste. How much of that Trillion will be wasted? If the generations after us have to pay for this, let's make sure that they are getting what they will be paying for.
    
11. I'm working on a small (large to me but small in light of the above) project. We've been working this since late November. It should have been completed. It is still in quality assurance. We haven't gotten it right to pass on to our customers. This stimulus package still isn't right!
    

Update: Centrists in Senate Push to Cut Billions From Stimulus

The effort is being led by two centrist senators, Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, and Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who say they would like to pare from $50 billion to $200 billion from the package. The final Senate vote on the stimulus package is expected late on Thursday.

Among the initiatives that could be cut are $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $14 million for cyber security research by the Homeland Security Department, $1 billion for the National Science Foundation, $400 million for research and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, $850 million for Amtrak and $400 million for climate change research. But so far, none of the suggestions come close to being enough to shrink the package on the scale proposed.