The stimulus bill has $300 Billion of tax cuts and that's a real big problem. Standard economic theory says that tax cuts, in particular ones that hand a lot of money to wealthy people, aren't as stimulatory as gov't spending simply because much of it gets saved or pays bills versus creating jobs.
Of course, since the 1980's the GOP has continuously pushed tax cuts, in particular to the rich, as being the best economic policy. By any objective measure it's been a failure. They don't pay for themselves and they seem to fuel bubbles as this extra money is investment money for rich people that then end up chasing profits and create higher demand yielding inflated prices.

When you add into the mix the desire of the GOPs tendency for extreme partisanship at all costs and their complete demonstrated penchant for mindless clinging to ideology, complete inability to use evidence in decision making, and Obama's naive up-front push for bipartisanship, the state of the stimulus shouldn't surprise anyone.

The GOP is making the case that stimulus == tax cuts and gov't spending is bad. This might not be such an issue if the stimulus bill had started with $100 Billion for tax cuts. That would have left lots of negotiating room but they started with $300 Billion dollars in tax cuts which was way to high. We need to spend much more or job creation.

The really sad part, as usual, is how well the GOP can still convince Americans on tax cuts regardless of how many times it fails. You would think that if a course of action keeps on yielding negative results for 30 years and results in the decimation of the middle class that at least the middle class might, somewhere along the line, tune it out.

Of course, given the horrifying times we live in, on the precipice of a depression, this isn't just an ideological argument. This is the life of the country. The life that the GOP is doing such a fabulous job of destroying.

Hopefully, Obama's learned his lesson. The GOP plays hardball and it doesn't give a shit about evidence and even if they do they are thrilled to sacrifice it, or the good of the country, for some mindless Rush type partisanship. Maybe next time Obama will start out by offering the GOP nothing and then meet them half way.

You deal with Republicans like you deal with terrorists. It's our way or the highway.

The cons need to be stopped dead in their tracks with the jihad that they are waging on this country. The GOP's leader, Mullah al-Limbaugh, has given his marching orders and has made it quite clear that he hopes Obama and American both fail.

Limbaughcons are no better than the al-Qaeda terrorists that are seeking our nation's downfall.

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Hopefully our lord Obama will be setting his divine eyes on whatever business you are working in, and with a pass of his holy hand....you will be employed by the US Government. They will tell you when to eat, shit and sleep. They will fuck up your pension (they have that L O N G Term experience doing that with Social Security)

All of those CEOs he is trying to salary cap, will just slide over to a Non-Government Bailed-Out business, and amke as much money as they can.

While scumbags like you wait for that tax break BHO promised to 95% of the working people in the country, when 45% or so have no Federal Tax responsibility, so let's call a spade, a spade (pardon the pun) it WELFARE, not a tax cut.

The Dems have managed to raise the "stimulus package" from $700 billion to $917 billion is less then two (2) weeks. The only pork in the package is the porking we're all going to get if it's pushed through.

If I wanted to become French or Swedish, I'd move there.

There is absolutely nothing nothing nothing that Obama, or anyone else, can realistically do to substantially alleviate the ficnacial crisis, which is going to get worse and worse. So he does what politicians always do when faced with an insoluable problem--he throws a ton of money at it. This will not only fail to help, it will make matters worse, but NOT throwing a ton of money at it is not a politically viable option.

It's easy to identify the cuprit as 25 years of Reagan-Bush trickle down, but as alluded to in the inital post, the real culprit is the American People, whose greed is exceeded only by their stupidity and cowardice. What the US really needs is another Great Depression, so that it's people can learn the value of hard work and hard-earned money. Guess that makes me an optimist.

Keep it up,you've got no chance of convincing anyone you are right.Just tell me, what has the past 8 years meant to our economy?

If you're referring to me smelly, I have absolutely no intention of convincing anyone that I am right. To the contrary, I am counting on everyone disagreeing with me again, as usual.

You are the proof of my email; that not matter what the evidence is the GOP/Cons will adhere to their ideology. You're as stupid as the people in Russia who still believe that communism is the best form of gov't. Reality does not intrude into your decision making. You are unravaged by the scourge of intelligence.

As far as the CEOs who will side over; considering the job they've done they can go slide away. If the additional compensation of long term stock doesn't entice them the fuck them because we know how this story ends (it's the evidence thing....nevermind)

Meanwhile, you blather on about welfare with complete disregard to the corporate welfate the gov't has been practising for decades. That welfare has cost us infintely more.

As far as the cost of the bialout. I know how to make it more effective and cost less. Cut $200 billion of the tax cuts in particular for richer people. The evidence shows its inefffective as stimulus (oh, the evidence thing again....never mind)

Scumbag

That's the "can't do attitude". Writing of Keynesian economic theory as an assumption.

While it is true that things are so fucked up now that it's not clear anything can help, only a fool would and/or a nihlist proceed on that assumption.

You Cons; you always say gov't can't do anyting good and they you go out and prove it even as you try and run it (into the ground apparently). Was it not Bush who when confronted with war and deficits said bravely "Go Shop!" The gov't fueled this with easy money which went looking for investments and greed took it from there (along with a lack of gov't regulation). Lots of these defunct mortgages were made by lenders who just wanted to make a quick billion or ten because those CEOs would walk away with tons of money regardless of what happened later. It's the securitization that drove this and that's a product of wall street and a lack of oversight.

Nihlism eh? So, what do you think of dark energy?

Course it's not for everyone. Go ahead, entertain me.

I wasn't, but you are a strange sort of ego maniac, you like the aatention even when you are wrong.