Meatier Stimulus Plan in Works

[Pirate Smile]

Source: Wall Street Journal


Mark Madden, a Corvette assembly worker, hangs a door Friday at the Bowling Green, Ky., facility. As economic conditions worsen, Obama economists say the package will have to be larger than expected to ensure the stimulus reaches the economy.

By JONATHAN WEISMAN and DEBORAH SOLOMON
President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is considering an economic-stimulus program that will be far larger than the two-year, half-trillion-dollar plan under consideration two weeks ago, according to people familiar with the team's thinking.

The president-elect is expected to be briefed on the broad parameters of the plan next week, with aides still hoping for Congress to pass a bill by the time Mr. Obama takes office Jan. 20.

With the unemployment rate now expected to hit 9% without aggressive intervention, Obama aides and advisers have set $600 billion over two years as "a very low-end estimate," one person familiar with the matter said. The final number is expected to be significantly higher, possibly between $700 billion and $1 trillion over two years.
Transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter denied any decisions have been made on the scope of the plan. "Any speculation on size or scope is premature at this time," she said.

On the upper bounds, liberal economists in the team have staked out $600 billion in the first year and $300 billion to $600 billion in the second, depending on economic conditions in 2010. Incoming Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said early this week he had tasked National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers to sound out conservative and liberal economists on their views.

The general sense among economists being canvassed by the Obama team is that "every day there's a new bad number," one of the people familiar with the matter said. "And people's sense of what the appropriate stimulus is rises" with the news


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122913735606103803.html

[bluestateguy]

1. There should be no money for AL, MS, GA, LA, SC and TN

No money, as punishment for the auto rescue bill.

And for voting the wrong way last month.

[raimius]

2. So...

You want to destroy another part of the country because they didn't "rescue" economically unsound corporations in a separate region? Sounds like a great plan for economic recovery! /sarcasm

[drm604]

3. We can't selectively save the economy.

It has to be all or nothing.

[madmom]

4. No what should happen is those foreign car manufacturers should be forced to

unionize or loose all gov. money!

[Fire1]

8. You forgot Ky.

[Fire1]

9. You forgot Ky.

[undeterred]

10. Yeah, the working people living in those states

deserve to be punished for their bonehead senators... that makes a lot of sense :sarcasm:

[SharonAnn]

14. Well, many of them voted for him.

[jetphixer]

11. KY Bye GM

Well the GM plant in KY is losing i just read Good Job Mitch Well UR safe 4 6 YRS but hopefully we can get rid of you pal in the senate

[Tunkamerica]

13. And I bet you don't happen to live in one of those states

right?

Are we to punish millions of people for their congress person's vote?

[SharonAnn]

15. If we don't, then why will they ever change their Senator? Elections have consequences, remember?

Here in Tennessee they want the senators that they have elected. Stop saving them from themselves! As long as we do that, they'll never change their voting patterns. Let them see what they have elected.

Corker was lead in negotiating almost $600 million for VW to build an auto plant in Tennessee. Now he wants to be sure that there are not auto unions that will threaten VW. Let people see that Corker is all for them (the taxpayer) paying for their jobs and making sure they have no rights.

Sheesh, it's bad enough that "anti-union" is believed to be a bad thing, to have to pay to be taken advantage of really sucks.

But that's the world that Corker wants. He's a capitalist in the sense that he thinks that all capital (money and rights) belong to him and his select group of cronies. The rest of us should be slaves.

[muntrv]

16. No, punish the idiot senators from those states that voted against the bailout.

There are UAW workers in KY (Ford plant in Louiseville as well as 'Vette) TN (Saturn in Spring Hill), and LA (GMC plant in Shreveport).

You think those folks were happy with the vote from those dumb fucks called their senators?

[Warpy]

5. The only stimulus that will actually work

is the one that addresses the fact that wages have been depressed since Johnson went out of office. We're heading into that vicious cycle where less demand means less employment which means less demand and so on.

Nothing that fattens the supply side without paying the demand side is going to work.

No matter how much money is lavished on the producers, they'll still fail if customers fail to materialize.

[elleng]

7. Of course.

and the rescue $ has to get into 'peoples' hands; NOT merely some stockholders and bank vaults.

[WriteDown]

12. Quiet Warpy....

You are making WAY too much sense.

[boomerbust]

6. Hey Mark

Build one of those ZR1's for me. A piece of Americana that must be saved.

[liberal N proud]

17. The only way for a stimulus package to work is...

to entice people to spend it.

All previous spending packages to the people have been checks of meager amounts. Most of the recipients of those checks put them toward existing bills or debt.

A stimulus package that would work would be something like this:

The government will give you $5 or $10 thousand dollars only if you use that to purchase American made durable goods. One such qualifying purchase would be a new American Made Automobile.

This would be something that would jump start the economy by providing cash infusion indirectly to the Auto Makers which if done properly could start the whole economic system down the right track.

[JanusAscending]

19. How about using it......

just to put a new roof on my house?? The old one is leaking!!

[liberal N proud]

22. If the materials are made in the USA

I would think it should qualify. It puts people to work.

[Buns_of_Fire]

21. Intriguing. And then make the remainder of the Big 3 loan program contingent...

on them producing a car or two that could actually be purchased for roughly the amount of the personal stimulus check (give or take a few bucks). The companies stay in business, the workers keep their jobs churning out these cars, and I could get something that actually has an automatic that functions in reverse (the reverse clutch in the '84 Olds burnt out Thanksgiving day).

Of course, for those who neither need nor want a new car, the government could adjust for that by just sending their stimulus check to me instead. I promise to spend it on American stuff.

[antimatter98]

18. Well if Rubin has a hand in this, all the $ will go to banks again..

and we'll see Main Street die.

Watch out for Robert Rubin, Obama's 'key economic advisor.'
He's behind the Citigroup bailout -- since he works there and was CEO there.

Rubin will see to it that a stimulus package actually enriches his banking and
Wall Steet friends.

Be prepared to be on the street while the Obama team champions how great their
stimulus package is doing. Realize: it will take months and months to ramp up
any public works, meanwhile watch the unemployment rate skyrocket, homelessness
will skyrocket, and yet, 'the stimulus' will be seen as a 'can't do it all in a day' as the
excuse for why nothing is happening except that banks and corporations will receive
the money but won't make anything happen.

We're in for a complete killing off of the working class in America.

This is certainly 'change,' I will admit that much. Obama's economic team
works for the banks and Wall Street, not for "America." America is dead.

[w4rma]

20. Not a single penny should be given directly to the financial industry. (nt)