Since this blogger is not going my way this past weekend or today hopefully this post finally works. Anyways today we watched a clip from This Week and they discussed the new stimulus package. Tell me your thoughts on what you think this stimulus package is all about. For example (with using quotes from the show) use facts to present the point that this stimulus will work for the best or present a case that this stimulus package will crash and burn. No comments are due on this just a 3-5 paragraph post. Thank you for dealing with me on this. I would expect strong answers and hopefully it will lead to a good conversation.
Here are some links:
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/02/17/obamastimuluslaw.html
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
19 comments:
I honestly do not believe in word of mouth testimonies on how great something is or how horrible something else is. However, I am tired of hearing about how Bipartisanship is dead. The fact is that there was no republican vote to pass the economic stimulus package in the house and only three republican votes in the senate. Senator Graham pointed out, "This is not bipartisanship... This is not change we can believe in!". Many senators argue that this doesn't create more jobs it creates more government. Which leads to horrifying questions such as the fate of the banking and housing industries.
This 787 billion package still managed to pass. "If the stimulus package was a country it would be the 15th largest in the world." I understand the magnitude of the situation but I also understand how hard something is considered before being passed through both houses of congress. I also understand the impact of PAC's and their funding for representative's reelection; as well as the senate's agreement to amend the package and a huge opposition from those asking for amendments. There is a big reason why this is happening and that is the economical failure of America.
I feel like we, as Americans, are gambling on a president that we want to trust. There are some very big risks that come with this chance. We figure that giving a jolt to the economy would be better than doing nothing. Although Bill Clinton's economic adviser talked against the bill, we must take into account that we are in a much more desperate situation during these times. We must focus on reviving our economy that finds itself in a vegetative state and take steps to rebuilding the meaning of America.
In This Week with GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, there were two senators and two representatives, SEN. CHARLES E. SCHUMER, D-N.Y, SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., REP. MAXINE WATERS, D-CALIF., REP. PETER T. KING, R-N.Y. They discussed about the new stimulus package. As I was looking on how all this money will be spend, it shows that Tax Relief is getting $288 Billion dollars. Using the majority of the money on the tax relief could bring us into a big hole. I honestly think they should rethink the way the money is being used. We need to focus on things that will get us out of this horrible economy. If we focus on education a little bit more which creates jobs and investment in the future, it will drop GDP.
This $787 billion stimulus package is the single most expensive economic legislation. 0 republicans vote in the house & 3 republicans vote in the senate, it had passed. If the stimulus package was a country it would be 15th largest in the world. The PACs told the Republicans not to vote or they will lose money for reelection. Senator Graham said "this is not bipartisanship, this is not change we can believe in, it doesn't make more jobs it makes more government."
In my point of view, we all know that this stimulus package isn't goin to help our economy get stabled. There could be a big chance that can make our economy even worse than what it is right now, although it is really bad now. For President Obama to sign the package, was a difficult decision. The American people would like to know how all there tax money is being used and not being waisted on unneccessarily things. I dont think were ready for this package to go into place. I think it needs a little bit more of a thought, before he could of signed it.
On This Week with George Stephanopoulos the topic of discussion was the $787 billion stimulus package for America. It will be the single most expensive piece of economic legislation ever in our history, and it passed without a single Republican vote in the House and only three in the Senate, that is obviously something that President Obama did not want to happen, passing the bill with only 3 republican votes.
The stimulus package consists of $288 billion for tax relief, $114 billion State and Local fiscal relief, $111 billion for infrastructure and science, $81 billion for protecting the vulnerable, $59 billion for health care, $43 billion for energy and finally, an $8 billion for other, as all this information is on www.recovery.gov. This website allows tax payers to see where this money is going, because, let’s face it; this is our money being spent. I don’t know if this is going to help or not. I don’t understand the tax part of this package which is the largest part of this. I’m sure that if most Americans are given money right now, there not going to go out and spend it on things like TV’s or cars or house’s, too many people are worried about what they already need to pay for.
When I was watching This Week and listening to the four guests speak, to me they sounded like a bunch of people arguing about different parts of the stimulus package and just made it more confusing to understand, for example, Sen. Lindsey Grahm went on and on about housing, “I know $350 billion is not enough to deal with the toxic assets and jump-start housing.” When he was asked how much would be needed he said “You know, some people tell me over a half a -- half a trillion dollars. And after this exercise of TARP I and now the stimulus bill, it makes it harder for everybody here to go back to the public and say, ‘Please give us more money, because we seem irresponsible’." And then right after that Rep. Waters said “I don't see anything in this bill that would make anybody want to throw up. This was exciting.” So spending $787 billion is exciting. Having the next generation pay for the mistakes that your generation made is exciting? Spending $787 billion isn’t something you want to throw up? The discussion between the four was random.
My opinion on this stimulus package is mixed. I want the economy to be fixed ASAP, so by the time I get out of college I can find a well paying job and do my part to pay for this stimulus, but then I don’t want my generation to pay for this for the rest of our lives. I understand that this is better than doing nothing, I guess it just sucks that it comes down to this. I can’t see this being the last stimulus package either. I think soon the government will come back to the tax payers and just take more money and make us pay it back, but maybe not.
I believe that this stimulus package will help America out tremendously. If the close to $1 trillion stimulus can circulate through out the economy the $40,000 that me and my generation will have to pay back will be a small price to pay to keep America afloat. We cant look towards the future if we cant keep the present stable.
On This Week democratic senator Chuck Schumer explains what the stimulus package will do for America. "It's going to do three things. It's going to keep or create 3 million to 4 million jobs. It's going to put money into the hands of the middle class so they spend it in the stores and restaurants and get the economy going. And it's going to create an infrastructure that not only puts people to work, but leaves something after, God willing, we get out of this. To do nothing risks a depression." If the package goes how Senator Schumer believes it will, America will have a jump start in getting itself back on to its feet. I have feeling its not going to go exactly as planned. I personally have heard talk of people planning to not use their stimulus checks, because they do no believe in what Obama is doing. If to many people do this, it will punch a whole in Obama's plan. Obama needs people to send that money to get it circulating through the economy.
I think this plan wouldn’t be as hard to accomplish if the parties worked better with each other. Obama had very little support from the Republican party. The republican's PAC didn’t help with the cause either. threatening to not help with any republicans re-election if they vote for Obama's stimulus plan shows how divided our congress really is. If the republican party was more open to bipartisanship, I think the people of American would fallow their example and this job could be over with so much easier.
Will this stimulus package work or be a bust? During the Roundtable discussion the phase "doing nothing can't be good for the country" said by Sam Donaldson, came up more than once. Also during the Stimulus Debate, Lindsey Graham felt that there needs to stimulus package but more on a focus on housing and banking. "This leaves trillions of dollars for the next generations" makes me hope that this stimulus package will work.
Schumer said the goals of this package are: one, keep or create 3 to 4 million, two, build infrastructure, and three, put money in Americans pockets. In class we discussed that the stimulus package is giving more power to the government. Only around 3 billion is going toward small businesses, 95% Americans receives tax breaks, 9% goes to infrastructure. However, this may take 18 months to be in effect. Schumer say this stimulus package may give our country the jolt it needs.
This stimulus package is the single most expensive piece of economic legislation in U.S history thus far. Some may say its a waste but others like Brazile (roundtable) know that "most Americans understand that the government had to do something." This 'something' may risk the next generation, but its alright because we are just focusing on the recession now, I don't feel that senior citizens are worried about the future debt because most of them will be died. "To do nothing risk a depression" said by Schumer. But what if doing nothing saves us from a depression. No one knows what would make our economy better, but I think everyone knows its going to get worse before it gets any better. I hope in 18 months this stimulus package works, the tax cuts will help many peopl, and having new jobs would cause Americans to spend. The only fear I have is if this stimulus package fails, 5 generation would have to pay the price.
In the show This Week we watched how the SEN. CHARLES E. SCHUMER, D-N.Y, SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., REP. MAXINE WATERS, D-CALIF., REP. PETER T. KING, R-N.Y. disused the stimulus package that Obama signed this past Tuesday. Like in every other issue there is two sides to this, Republicans vs. Democrats. The Democrats of course stand on Obama‘s side and they support this plan and think that it is a great idea. On the other side we have the Republicans arguing that this is too much money being spent and that it will not help our economy in any way. I’m stuck somewhere in between these two ideas. I believe that to some extent it will help our economy, but I don’t think that all of this money is being spent in wisely.
The democrats say that this bill will create more jobs and it will help our education system. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters said, “Many well-known economists say that this should be a trillion-dollar bailout bill that we need to put more into our economy.” This sounds a little scary because the bill already is 787 billion dollars and putting more money into something that they are not 100% sure is going to work doesn’t sound like a good plan. I do agree that the government should do something now to prevent the economy from getting worse, and that’s why I think that this plan is a good idea. Renewing our schools is a good idea because there is no doubt that our schools are in really poor conditions, at least in Nevada. This will be an investment and at the same time create jobs.
However, I think that instead of spending all this money in tax cuts and schools, although it’s not a bad idea, the government should focus more on the main issue. This means that the government should try to help the banking and housing system first before anything else and I don’t think that nationalizing banks is the best idea for this country. Until these two main issues stabilize I don’t think that the economy will be stable nor jobs no matter how much money the government spends on other things. I think that the Democrats and Republicans really need to come together, both in the House and the Senate, and care about their country and vote for a bill that will really help this country. The Republicans are worrying too much about the PAC not helping them get reelected and are not putting their country first, like many of them promised.
Im honestly confused about this stimulus oackage. Theres alot of people who are ralking negatively about it and others that believe it could help our economy. Like yesenia mentioned its all word of mouth. When it comes to the tax cuts presented and the infrastructure and the help nof schools it all seems good. The fact it would create more jobs and help the companies in trouble it all seems good.
When you compare it to the bush's stimiulus package that DIDNT work its almost exactly the same. Thta gives me personally doubt about the it as a whole. On the issue of it being bipartisan.. no republicicans voted for it in the house and only 3 in the senate. Everyone keeps on bringing up this issue. They fail to mention that PAC's stated they wouldnt fund republicans who voted for this package in there reelection that can definately afect votes. As learned this year in goverenment it takes alot to get bills passed. They talk of this package as though it didnt pass through both of the houses. Strong decison making processes are used throughout passing bills.. so if its as bad as some people are making it seem im wondering how it was passed?
Some are saying that its "generation theft" i.e John McCain.. that with this stimulus package generations to come will be paying for this debt. I feel like theres so much pressure on Obama and that alot of people are looking for this stimulus package to fail because that means obama failed. Nobodys really looking at the best interest to me it seems like they are either downing it beyond measure because of own personal reasons or embellishing it for there own persoanl reasons instead of coming together and really focusing on reviving our economy.
The stimulus plan is all about helping our economy. What is sad is that no republican voted to the pass the stimulus package in the House and just about three republicans voted in the Senate. A reason that might be is because the PAC's told the republicans not to vote because they would not be funded to future elections. That is a big failure in America today, is that what it has come down to? The big question on everyone's mind is if the stimulus package will truly help the failure the housing and banking industries have done. It is a big risk America has to take in hopes of not going to another Great Depression.
With the few votes from the republicans the stimulus package sill ending up passing. The package consists of $787 billion distribution to all sorts of "valuable programs." Where exactly is our tax money going to people might be wondering. It starts from the money being spent the most which is tax relief-$288 billion, state and fiscal relief-$144 billion, infrastructure and science-$111 billion, protecting and vulnerable-$81 billion, health care-$59 billion, training and education-$53 billion, energy-$43 billion, and other expenses lead to $8 billion. All of this information was in a website from the government(www.recovery.gov).
On this week two representatives and two senators all from Capital Hill attended the show. Governor Mark Sanford said, "If the stimulus package was a country it would be the 15th largest in the world." That is saying a lot from the package. It will take my generation decades to pay off this debt and maybe that won't even be enough. Is it honestly worth it and is the bill going to get us out of reaching the Great Depression? Senator Schumer said the stimulus package will do three things, "It is going to maintain and create the three to four millions jobs. The middle class will be able to spend money on restaurants and stores enabling businesses to once again grow. Finally the stimulus package is going to create an infrastructure that not only puts people to work, but leaves something after, God willing, we get out of this."
Overall I believe the stimulus package will help us out in many ways. The democrats are trying hard to find solutions into making the economy stable like it was before. The theory behind it is what is strong, if the package is able to execute then it would be a success. The horrible part is we are going to pay it off therefore we need to make it exceed. The worse thing is not doing anything and watch everything fall apart instead of acting quick. We need to step up to the plate and work together as a nation to solve economic crisis.
To be honest, I'm still unsure about what this stimulus package will do. The package was obviously controversial; only three representatives in the senate, and none in the house, voted for the bill. Even after hearing the dabate between Senators, Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Grahan, and Representatives, Peter King and Maxine Waters, I am still confused on what exactly is going to happen, all I know is that a TON of money, $787 billion to be more precise, is involved.
Senator Chuck Schumer said, "this package is going to do three things: keep and create three to four million jobs, put money in the pockets of the middle class for them to spend, and create infrastructure." This is a major need right now due to the many Americans who have been left without jobs. On the other hand, Lindsey Graham stated that only the government is going to be increased, not new jobs. He believes that more money should be directed towards helping housing and banks (the major problem of the economy according to him). Presenting opposing viewpoints is usually helpful, but the issues on how to help the economy are already confusing enough (to me at least)!
I'm hoping that this newly signed stimulus package will do at least something to help the economy some... hopefully it wont be a big waste of money. I'm going to be among the many people of my generation that are being stuck with paying this off.
Will this stimulus package be able to rekindle the American economy or will it just put us in the hole even more? That is the main question focused on during the particular THIS WEEK episode. This $787 billion bailout has already been denied support by the Republicans. The bill passed with only three votes in the senate and none in the house, but will these Republicans be proven wrong. Although there were Republicans threatened by PACs stating they would not be supported in a reelection if they voted for the stimulus package, there were some Republicans who had their minds already made up that the plan would not benefit the country. For example Senator Mark Sanford stated, "It's a waste, It's not going to work, and we're going to be paying for it for generations."
During the progress of the show it was easy to see what opinions each member of the debate had. Both Maxine Waters and Chuck Schumer favored the plan while Peter Kin and Lindsey Graham opposed it. Schumer stated that the plan would, "create 3 million to 4 million jobs, put money into the hands of the middle class, and get the economy going. And it's going to create an infrastructure." Graham argued that 27% of the bill was going to tax cuts and will also not create any jobs. He stresses, "we created new government, not new jobs." He also feels that nationalization would be a good idea. Waters believes that this plan will not only help us today but also that "it's an investment in the future."
Although I may not be perfectly OK with the fact that I am going to have to pay for this stimulus package with my hard work and money, I really do not see another alternative. I think it's a good thing that the stimulus package was passed because now we can focus on rebuilding our economy. As for those who don't think it's a good idea, look at the Great Depression, we got out of that ordeal and ended up with a surplus during Clinton's time in office. I think that if we made it out then, we can do the same now, yes, it's a shame that we have to pay for mistakes we had no part of, but if we want the country to get back on it's feet, this is a good way to start.
$288 billion is going to tax relief, $144 billion is going to state and local fiscal relief, $111 billion is going to Infrastructure and Science, $81 billion is going to protect the vulnerable, $59 billion for health care, $53 billion for education and training, $43 billion for energy, and $8 billion on miscellaneous things. This package is intended to save and create jobs, and be the blueprint for a strong and healthy economy. I do think that this will work. Obviously, something has to be done. Republicans argue that the profit will not be worth the price, but something has to be done. Doing nothing while the economy grows worse and worse is negligent.
Americans are going to receive rebate checks. If you make less than $75,000 as an individual annually, you’ll get a check for $600. If you make less than $125,000 as a family annually, you’ll get a check for $1,200. Theoretically, if Americans spend these checks immediately, there will be a jump start to this economy. But in these dire economic times, will Americans go out and spend spend spend? Some will, but I imagine that most won’t, thinking to pocket the money for an emergency, like someone getting laid off. Plus, the majority of products that Americans buy aren’t made in America, putting money in foreign pockets.
No one knows if this bill will work. If the Republicans were basically blackmailed into not voting for the bill, you don’t have the whole truth. If bipartisanship isn’t dead, then its barely alive. It seems like party member’s would rather have their party flourish than the country benefit. America trusts Obama and are on his side. It’s important that America is behind him on this, or this would never work. While we have an $11 trillion debt, we are going to pump out another trillion. In my opinion, this is a high risk, small reward plan.
I think that an economic stimulus plan is a good idea; however, the way that things are set up, I think that this stimulus plan will eventually crash and burn. The guidelines for this stimulus package will only set us up to be in more debt. The president continues to talk about restimulating our economy to be better but what we do today will always affect tomorrow. This stimulus package is just an accident waiting to happen.
During the debate on the stimulus package, they said that 95% of the American people will be getting tax cuts. Sure, that does sound like a good idea, but when it comes to looking to the following generations, we will just be putting ourselves back into another economic crisis. The more money they take from the Federal Reserve will just be more money ourselves, as well as, our children will have to repay. Tax breaks will allow people to have more money but the more the government will make us pay years from now. They want to make the tax breaks for middle class but there barely is a middle class anymore. A lot of people have become lower class and I don't recall hearing them say anything about helping the lower class out.
Building and reconstruction of schools, in my opinion, is somewhat a stupid idea. Building more schools would be pointless. Clark county already has a shortage of teachers. We're barely filling our education staff as is. How do they expect to build new schools if there would be no one to run it? Reconstruction is a good idea however. Although, it's only a good idea if the plans for the reconstruction is more convenient and keeps the students and staff safe. Remodeling just because they feel like it would be really stupid. For example, the parking lot at Valley, is it really necessary? It was a parking lot for staff and students to park and now students have a hard time looking for parking.
I believe that Americans need to be more responsible. Credit cards, loans, and gambling are three ways that people have lost most of their money. People continue to use credit cards when they know they can't pay the limit. Loans, it's just a way for people to get quick cash that they don't intend on paying back right away. Also, gambling is probably the quickest way to lose money. High bidders are risking a lot of money just hoping that win. Luckily, gambling has not been as popular; however, the fact that Nevada, as a state, depends on the revenue of gambling.
If our nation can become more responsible and have more integrity, our nation will rise to our feet again. It's the small things that can make a big difference too. Like i said, what we do today will always affect tomorrow. It's just about controlling our desires and focusing on our priorities.
The stimulus package President Obama signed in on Tuesday was worth $787 billion. This stimulus package was by far the most expensive economic legislation recorded. Not to mention the interesting behavior in the voting process with no Republican votes in the House and a low number of three votes in the Senate. Senator Schumer points out the three objectives the stimulus package is trying to achieve, “It’s going to keep or create 3 million to 4 million jobs. It’s going to put money into the hands of the middle class so they spend it in the stores and restaurants and get the economy going, And it’s going to create an infrastructure that not only puts people to work, but leaves something after, God willing, we get out of this.”
The two Senators, Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham, and three Representatives argued about whether or not the Stimulus Package was a great idea or bad idea. I don’t want to repeat what others had already said; instead I’m going straight to the point. Each person presented their points about the effects that the stimulus package would leave on the American people. For example Schumer explained that jobs would be kept or created and Graham explains that the bill is repeating from last year and would not create jobs. Fear of depression and situations such as low GDP and a deflationary spiral weighed on the speaker’s mind. However like Schumer explained it’s better than waiting for the depression to come to us.
I cannot say whether or not the stimulus package that President Obama had presented would work, however I believe that the stimulus package would at least make an impact on jobs for the American people. Million’s of people are rapidly losing their jobs and its time for the government to step in and do something about the situation. I agree with Waters when she said, “ This (stimulus package) is a long-term investment in our economy.” Everything is not going to be fixed all at once; it’s going to take a long process and teamwork to get America out of this economic crisis.
In my opinion, the stimulus package will not help, it will in fact crash and burn just like the previous one. As you said, the stimulus package that was just passed into law is around 70% the same, therefore it is very likely to produce the same results as the last one, which werent great. As Senator Graham says; "if this is going to be bipartisanship, the country is screwed" this shows that despite the immense similarity between the bills, support for it has shifted as abruptly as the changing of the president. The bills are extremely similar, and this one is likely to fail just like the last.
The new stimulus package is supposed to provide tax cuts for about 95% of the middle class, but as stated in class, middle class is about $80,000 to $150,000 or something like that. This means that the people who were taking out two and three mortgages at a time on new houses who are mostly in the lower class will not receive tax cuts, and therefore will recieve no support. Though, huge corporations will recieve money to make up for their years of poor management. It is almost encouraging them to keep up the bad work, becuase if they are being bailed out every time something goes wrong, why fix the mistakes?
"For every job the bill creates, American taxpayers will spend $223,000. If we add the cost of this bill to the previous efforts of the federal government to deal with the financial crisis, the American taxpayer is on the hook for $9.7 trillion… If the stimulus bill were a country, it would be the 15th-largest country in the world," Sanford wrote in The State this morning. If the stimulus package does do anything that everyone is promising it will do, we will still be on the hook for $9.7 trillion. This will keep america in debt for years to come. And, even if it does not work, we will still be on the hook for that much money. This will further lower the value of the american dollar, and put us lower in the ranks for nations' wealth. The bill is so similar to the previous one, it is a surprise that the supporters of the first are now the opposition. However, it will make no difference, the bill has already passed, the damage is already done.
Before watching This Week with George Stephanopoulos i really didn't understand the whole "stimulus package" thing. There were two senators , Senator Charles Schumer and Lindsay Graham. And two representatives Maxine Waters, and Peter King. They were supposed to help the public understand whether or not the stimulus package was going to work. I didn't know a thing about the stimulus package, other than the fact that billions of dollars are being given to companies that were irresponsible with the money that they already had. I personally don't see how this is going to help.
While watching the show many points were dropped that were supposed to help the public (the public that watches political shows) understand more about the stimulus package...but I still don't understand. It was stated that there will be tax cuts for the middle class, but that’s what all politicians say, and yet I find that the middle class is still paying just as much. It was also said that this would help companies so that they could keep the employees that they had. But the didn't say how. They kept saying that this is to be a "jolt to the economy". But the Republicans said that there is so much more missing in the plan. But they didn't go into detail about saying what exactly the plan is missing. In fact they don't even say what the whole bill is. I have know idea what is really going on. Obama said that we would allow the American people to see EXACTLY what the bill will consist of, and EXACTLY who gets how much. Senator Graham pointed out, "This is not bipartisanship... This is not change we can believe in!" But I don't even understand what exactly bipartisanship is. Non of this makes any sense. They say that the bill helps middle class, but that most of the money is going to corporate America, and middle class isn't on Wall Street. So how exactly is it going to help the middle class aside from the fact that it allows companies to keep from filling bankruptcy.
The over all idea of the package worries me. Its like a parent saying their child’s permission slip without looking. You have know idea what you just signed, and yet you signed it. I think that we as a country need to be fully aware of what we are getting ourselves into before we jump in head first. I would be happy if they could hold off on signing it, at least until we as a nation are better educated about what all is in the bill.
On This Week with George Stephanopoulos, senators Charles E. Schumer, Lindsey Graham, Maxine Waters, and Peter T. King discussed the $787 billion stimulus package President Obama signed on Tuesday. The package guarantees a Tax Relief of $288 billion dollars which sounds like a great relief but “if we add the costs of this bill to the previous efforts of the federal government to deal with the financial crisis, the American taxpayer is on the hook for $9.7 trillion” which seems like a very hefty price to be paying for the un-guaranteed survival of our economy. The stimulus plan is going to keep or create 3 million to 4 million jobs, put money into the hands of the middle class, and going to create many new infrastructures, yet “of a $787 billion bill, $3 billion is directed to small- business people... We increased new government; we did not increase new jobs.” and with only three Republican votes in Senate, we are definitely not creating bipartisanship. So far things are not going as planned, so what’s to guarantee that this package is really going to do everything that is promised?
Although the Democrats and Republicans both want what’s best for the country talk is cheap, we need to work together and fast in order to still have a future. Our nations is most definitely not made of money and the money being spent is going to have to be paid back by the younger generations, so if this package does not work then things are only going to get much worse in the future. I’m not sure if the stimulus plan will work since I honestly don’t think it is being distributed evenly and I have no clue where most of it is going, but for the sake of our nation, the plan has to work.
From my point of view, the democrats really should have let more republicans contribute to the planning of the stimulus. I can’t say I am for the stimulus package yet I am not against it, since it has both good aspects and the negative aspects. Although we need to act fast before things get worse, this package really should have come with more planning and thought. Yes, we need better schools but who’s going to teach the students if we don’t even have enough teachers as it is? If we cant help out the younger generation get a better education to make something out of themselves, we are only going to make things worse in the long run since our generation is the future of this nation. I think there is definitely going to be provision made to this package, only adding more money to it, and I believe it will take many changes before we get it right.
'This Week with George Stephanopoulos' featured Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham along with Representatives Peter King and Maxine Waters. They were on the show to debate about the $787 billion stimulus plan which is now “the single most expensive piece of economic legislation ever in our history”. The guests on the show had several disagreements about the bill; however, I believe that the major disagreement was whether this bill was established in a bipartisan fashion or not. King claimed that “Not one Republican was allowed to take part in the process in the House”. On the other hand, Waters responded by saying “That's -- that is not -- that is not the truth”. Waters suggested that the rest of the Republicans “Step up to the plate; offer your amendments. You know, we took all of their amendments”. King stood his grounds and continued his claim that “The fact is, not one Republican was allowed at the table in the House of Representatives”.
To be honest, this show didn’t help me understand the stimulus package at all. I had to dig around the internet and watch some shows on my own to get a better understanding of this bill. The main message that I got out of this was that the Republicans are mad because they claim that they didn’t have a say in this process. In regards to the issue of bipartisanship, I wasn’t on the Senate or House floor to witness the whole process live and direct, so I can’t say whether the bill was produced in a bipartisan fashion or not. I’m not confident in this stimulus package. I went to http://www.whitehouse.gov/ and discovered “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”. I skimmed through most of the 407 pages of this act. The goals were listed on the 2nd page, and they’re:
(1) To preserve and create jobs and promote economic
recovery.
(2) To assist those most impacted by the recession.
(3) To provide investments needed to increase economic
efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and
health.
(4) To invest in transportation, environmental protection,
and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic
benefits.
(5) To stabilize State and local government budgets, in
order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services
and counterproductive state and local tax increases.
After doing some research, I’ve come to the conclusion that this stimulus package is still sketchy. I think that after the dust settles and all the money is distributed, we’ll still have a lot of issues that need to be dealt with. Sure, new researches will be conducted and new jobs will be created, but that won’t satisfy everyone. It seems to me that the majority of the jobs that will be available will be related to construction. Yes, in the long run there will be positions available within the facilities that are built, but I don’t think that they’ll be available in time. Construction is a process that takes several months, years even, and the people that lost their jobs don’t have that kind of time. Unless they all plan on working with tools or managing the construction sites they’ll either have to wait for a building to open nearby and hope they get hired, struggle to find another job elsewhere with a sufficient salary or settle for a job at the bottom of the barrel and scrape every dime they can.
My main concern is that my generation will be paying for all of this. I’m going to be in college, struggling to pay for tuition, books, food and other things. I also need to start saving for a car of my own and a place to stay. It’s going to be harder when my taxes are increased to pay off this package. Along with that, I plan to be a civil engineer. Hopefully there will still be engineering positions open on these construction sites by the time I’m out of college. If not, I’m going to be living on Top Ramen and Value Menus for a while. Plus, these jobs will attract competition in the engineering field from foreign countries and graduates from the elite universities. It’s going to be extremely hard to find a job, even on the local level. Since our city is expanding and construction is needed, tons of people are going to be flocking around our city in search of jobs. It’s scary thinking about it. I’m just going to do my best to mentally prepare for this, and brace myself for future struggles.
So I know Barack Obama was elected on this glittery platform of change and whatnot, but we're going through hard times where blind hope and wishful thinking aren't helping. They say that our country is dealing with the worst economic struggle since the great depression, and this is true. This is also why we should be taking more care to fix our problem in these dire times. Congress recently passed the "single most expensive piece of economic legislation ever in our history"...without a thorough reading of the bill.
According the recovery.gov, the largest percentage of the money appropriated by this bill is going to tax relief. Senator Graham made pointed out that "the average taxpayer gets $8 of tax relief, but their children get $1 trillion of debt". It really doesn't seem worth it. Economists project that this bill will diminish the economy, not revive it. The banking and housing crisis served as a catalyst for the economic downturn, and not nearly enough money is going to solve that problem. This bill is lacking in important areas and seems rushed and ill prepared.
Though 75% of Americans are employed by small businesses, only $3 billion of the $787 billion bill will be issued as tax credits to such businesses. Additionally, the bill lifts the work requirements, no longer requiring the verification of illegal immigrants to help build the infrastructure the supporters of this bill promise. Allowing undocumented workers to gain money that taxpayers give up doesn't seem like it will benefit the economy in any way. This bill doesn't make sense.
I agree with Gov. Sanford of South Carolina. I think this bill is a waste and will be met with failure. Though things will get worse, I'm anxious to see who accepts responsibility and accountability for its ineffectiveness.
Absolutely Amazing Job on this guys!!!! I hope all of these comments get other questions going between you guys. See you Monday
Post a Comment