Quote :

" WASHINGTON (CNN) — House Democratic leaders are putting together a second economic stimulus package costing as much as $150 billion and are likely to call Congress back shortly after the election to vote on the measure, according to several Democratic leadership aides. The details are still in flux, but one aide said the price tag would be “somewhat north of $100 billion” and would include “a heavy emphasis on help to state and local governments.” One way to help states would be to fund the mandatory state match for Medicaid programs so that states would not have to slash education and other programs to cover it. Before Congress recessed last week for the election, the House of Representatives passed economic aid measures totaling $61 billion to fund infrastructure projects, money for states’ Medicaid costs, and unemployment assistance. But these bills failed to attract enough support in the Senate and the White House opposed them. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, traveling in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday, said, “With all that happened in the past few weeks, it probably has to be more like a $150 billion to invest in our economy, to create jobs, to help the states, to help men and women across the country.” –From Deirdre Walsh, CNN Congressional Producer"

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/

Yes, throw more money at the problem...that'll surely fix it this time

10/10/2008 3:05:58 PM

you either get creative or you throw the money hose at it.

10/10/2008 3:10:14 PM

Maybe they're reasoning that the hole isn't deeper than our pockets. Maybe they should take a look at the negative savings rate of Americans and some of the other numbers before reaching that conclusion.

10/10/2008 3:10:36 PM

sweet, i really need the government to buy me sound system to go with the HDTV they bought me with the last stimulus package.

10/10/2008 3:15:58 PM

maybe ill actually spend it this time, rather then invest it and all but lose it like the last one.

10/10/2008 3:16:15 PM

when do I get to be a serf?

I've always wanted to be a serf.

10/10/2008 3:18:11 PM

After I paid of my credit card, I went out and bought some cool toys. Need to pay it off again... oops

10/10/2008 3:19:15 PM

We are so fucked. Democrats in power in the House, Senate, and White House. Not to mention it's possible that they will have a super majority in the Senate... This is the best reason to vote for McCain, so that neither party will have total control.

10/10/2008 3:26:15 PM

I can agree with it not being a good idea having one party completely in control, but at this point there's really no hope for the republicans.

10/10/2008 3:58:02 PM

I might have some time alone...

10/10/2008 4:13:12 PM

A stimulus package makes a lot more sense than the bailout did.

10/11/2008 11:17:28 AM

YAY!

Another chance for pork barrel spending!

10/11/2008 11:20:08 AM

Quote :

"The other key component of an economic recovery package should be a coordinated fiscal stimulus. In the United States, this stimulus should be on the order of $300 billion to $400 billion (2.0-2.7 percent of GDP). This stimulus is essential for counteracting the sharp falloff in consumption that is following the loss of $5 trillion in housing wealth and President Bush's scare tactics for promoting his bank bailout. The stimulus should be designed to quickly boost demand. In the United States, this can best be done by aiding state and local governments, extending unemployment benefits, tax rebates to low income individuals, accelerating infrastructure spending and support for energy conserving retrofits of homes and businesses. It is also essential that the dollar fall against other major currencies in order to bring the trade deficit back to a manageable level."

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/statement-on-the-need-for-coordinated-stimulus/

10/11/2008 11:25:13 AM

YAY $300-$1200 more to every tax payer to be spent....

-like me on my vacation to Bermuda
- booze
-Chrome Rims
- crack
- the lottery
- big screen TVs
- So I can buy gas (which helps out my Arab friends), to drive my Big Gas Guzzling SUV around town
- etc

Quote :

"sweet, i really need the government to buy me sound system to go with the HDTV they bought me with the last stimulus package."

LOL, so true

[Edited on October 11, 2008 at 11:53 AM. Reason : ;]

10/11/2008 11:52:55 AM

Does anybody know what the budget deficit is anymore? At this point I guess it's like the all-but-bankrupt person who goes on a shopping spree.

10/11/2008 12:28:56 PM

^ yeah, funny you should mention it. It passed $10 Trillion last month, and the sign in NYC that keeps a tally had to add additional digits to the sign
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7660409.stm



for now, they turned the left-most digit from a "$" to a "1" and pasted a $ on it


[Edited on October 11, 2008 at 12:47 PM. Reason : /]

10/11/2008 12:34:50 PM

Talk about buying votes. that's all this shit is. a way for dems to buy more votes. literally

10/11/2008 10:00:58 PM

Quote :

"are likely to call Congress back shortly after the election to vote on the measure"

yes, they're obviously trying to buy votes

10/11/2008 10:50:45 PM

^ are you being sarcastic there?

10/11/2008 10:51:45 PM

Someone needs to stimulate my package.

HA HA

10/11/2008 10:52:07 PM

yes, they are trying to buy votes by merely mentioning this bullshit measure. Hey, let's print more money out of thin air while China begins to tell us they are sick of financing our debt. That'll really help the economy!

10/11/2008 11:01:22 PM

Quote :

"That'll really help the economy!"

Under one mainstream theory, it will. Got to keep that demand up. (What a goofy distribution system.)

10/11/2008 11:04:25 PM

yes. massive inflation will really help

10/11/2008 11:12:04 PM

10/11/2008 11:22:00 PM

Quote :

"Under one mainstream theory, it will. Got to keep that demand up. (What a goofy distribution system.)"

Someone smarter than me should try to explain why this just hasn't worked for Zimbabwe yet. I mean, 13,000% inflation hasn't managed to stimulate demand? Well then, just how much will?

[Edited on October 12, 2008 at 2:12 AM. Reason : .]

10/12/2008 2:11:54 AM

Eh, that's far from a convincing argument. Joules get me down the road, but that doesn't mean I want an atom bomb exploding on the back of my bike.

10/12/2008 9:25:17 AM

Massive inflation at this point in time is highly unlikely.

GoldenViper, as goofy a distribution system as it is, it is the same one you expouse on. You said it yourself that you wanted consumers to be free to spend their energy credits as they saw fit. Which means your system will suffer the same demand/supply imbalance that causes recessions in the current system. The only difference is that instead of a million businesses quickly adjusting to altered demand patterns, your one government run business will fail to convince consumers to switch back to the old pattern and wind up filling warehouses with unsellable merchandise while shortages run rampant for what people really want.

10/12/2008 10:19:28 AM

Quote :

"GoldenViper, as goofy a distribution system as it is, it is the same one you expouse on."

Again, energy accounting isn't like money. For another take on the same basic concept, see the Venus Project for information on a resource-based economy.

Quote :

"The only difference is that instead of a million businesses quickly adjusting to altered demand patterns, your one government run business will fail to convince consumers to switch back to the old pattern and wind up filling warehouses with unsellable merchandise while shortages run rampant for what people really want."

I'm not sure what you're going on about here, but I can tell it don't apply to any vision of mine. The system I want has no government and no selling.

10/12/2008 5:09:06 PM

LOL

All I can say is: Cindy Sheehan for Congress, 8th District! My vote will definitely count this year.

10/12/2008 7:39:55 PM

Come on Stimulus Package!!!

I'd love some ca$h to go towards putting 2-12's in the back of my A4

10/12/2008 9:53:36 PM

maybe this time I'll get the full amount promised

10/13/2008 1:21:19 AM

yeah i only got $300 instead of the full $600.

that short-changed me on some extra boozing, gambling, and souvenirs during my trip to Bermuda!!

10/13/2008 6:02:18 AM

^^ Forty acres and a mule?

10/13/2008 6:29:03 AM

in all my selfishness ... i would love for this to pass.
expenses this month are breaking my bank account

10/13/2008 10:13:10 AM

o, new media pc and i could upgrade my home wireless to N.

10/13/2008 11:34:39 AM

Quote :

"Removing legal barriers to speed up new offshore oil drilling. A law banning offshore drilling expired October 1, but Republican lawmakers say lawsuits could block new offshore rigs and want judges to quickly rule on the cases."

Whatever I don't live in AK or the gulf

Quote :

" Lowering taxes on income that U.S. corporations earn from their overseas subsidiaries. "

Yes, lets do encourage outsoucring of jobs!!

Quote :

" Eliminating capital gains taxes on the sale of homes up to $500,000 for a couple. "

Actually a good idea. This one is fine with me.

Quote :

" Suspending capital gains taxes on securities purchased during the next two years. "

Sure if you suspend income taxes for the $32,551 – $78,850 range. Thanks Uncle Sam!
If the trustfund babies can get a break for sitting on their ass than I want a tax holiday for working my ass off. Getting to work 100% for myself not to subsidize Sally Sue's 10 welfare babies.

Quote :

" Extending government deposit insurance to business transaction accounts. "

Sure if its to the same FDIC limits as any other bank account. Currently raised to 250k

Directing the government to guarantee inter-bank loans.[/quote]

10/13/2008 4:39:36 PM

Bttt........ Search function works

11/7/2008 3:47:11 PM

The last stimulus package apparently did a fair job at helping the economy. Note that it didnt solve the worlds problems but no amount of money divided by several millions during a tanking economy will do that. It helped stop the slide and was worth it (in my opinion). Plus, any sort of rebate check system like that will not have its effect immediately, the benefits will be spread out over months/few years.

This upcoming package pisses me off. Any stimulus for infrastructure is good in the long run but falls flat in the short run. It takes forever to plan these things out and get them enacted. We are looking to rebound and get a boost, not look 10 years down the road. You dont clusterfuck during a recession and solve it by making projects that take forever to plan. In addition, it only helps a select group of workers and firms really. Im not wild about this idea given these restrictions.

Also, the more money for unemployment bothers me. During a recession, transfer payments automatically increase and tax revenue automatically decreases (furthering the deficit, which is increasing, will be increasing faster because of this recession, will be increasing faster because of all these bailout plans) so why do we need to speed it up?

11/7/2008 5:42:48 PM

http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2008/11/07/aigs_bailout_20.html

You guys realize Paulson and company are nearly openly stealing the taxpayers money right? Man how I wish the MSM would get a damn clue and call these crooks on this shit.

[Edited on November 8, 2008 at 12:54 AM. Reason : .]

11/8/2008 12:54:10 AM