I think it is safe to draw the following conclusions:
1. Democrats own this bill lock, stock, and barrel. If it succeeds, Democrats will be in power for many elections to come. If it fails, it is hard to say whether the Democrats will pay a price thanks to a fawning media.
2. The United States Treasury does not have $787 billion. So where is the money going to come from?
2a) Some money will come from bond sales to other countries, but there is no way that all of the money can be raised through bond sales. Besides increasing our debt to other countries is bad policy.
2b) Some money will likely come from higher taxes in the future (despite the highly touted minuscule tax cuts in the bill).
That still leaves the Federal Government short by hundreds of billions of dollars. Where will the remainder come from?
2c) Ex nihil0 – from Latin meaning “out of nothing.” The Feds will simply print the rest. There is a consequence to such actions. It is Economics 101 that inflation or stagflation will unavoidably occur.
3. It will be the knee jerk reaction of politicians to raise taxes. Considering the recent discussion we had about Abraham Lincoln (R), there are also words of wisdom from Thomas Jefferson (D).
“Still one thing more, fellow citizens: a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government…”
3 comments:
I can't verify this but I heard on the radio today that if you stacked up crisp new dollar bills one on top of the other, the amount of the stimulus package would make the pile over 1,100 miles high. That's how much we are talking here!
1. It is true that the Dems owe it. But let us remember that the stimulus bills that have preceded it under Republican Administration are also part of our current deficit. Let us remember that under Republicans administration of the past 8 years, our overall deficit has grown. As it grew, some Dems used it to make political hay, and Republican seemed not nearly as concerned then as they seem to be today.
2. Where the money will come from is indeed perplexing and worrying. The US Treasury is going to need to being bringing in far more that it sends out. And how else might it do that without upping taxes or receiving more in taxes under the current system because of prosperity? Hardly seems likely.
I don't know. Print it and cause inflation, cross one's fingers, barrow barrow. Any good options?
3. Abraham Lincoln's and Thomas Jefferson's comments ring true, but in our current world where the people demand so much more from government, are these statements not a bit outdated? We must pay more because we all expect more.
Kim > I guess the sky is not the limit!
Doug > 1. Yes, the Republicans started it and I am very upset about that, but the Democrats had the power to stop the insanity, but porked out instead.
2. Cut spending, the opposite of what occurred today.
3. What you and I expect from government is substantially different. I don't think this Jefferson quote is out of date at all, and rings even more true today.
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