The stimulus plan we have all been hoping will work (as in if it doesn't work, we're screwed) has been approved by Congress and now all that is needed is Obama's signature - which should be given on Monday. The plan was originally at $838 billion, but a couple of hooligan Senate moderates wrought some witch craft and brought it down to $787 billion to help the plan get more votes. I don't know what difference 51 billions make when you're dealing with about 800 of them, but I guess when one deals with so many billions, one's thought process gets a little boggled - mine is, and if yours isn't, think harder.
If you don't believe me that $787 billion is a big number, take it from senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky): "This is one of the most expensive pieces of legislation that Congress has ever approved...it adds up and it has to be paid back." See? I'm always right.
Votes for the economic stimulus plan were mostly divided along party lines. Republicans voted against it, Democrats voted for it. The exceptions were seven Democrats in the House who voted against the plan, and in the Senate three Republicans and two Independents voted for the plan. In the Senate, the stimulus plan needed all the help it could get - it passed with the minimum number of votes: 60-38.
Now if you're thinking that $787 billion is a lot and that we will just spend it and see how it works out, you're not thinking like Obama. President Obama says that this stimulus plan is only the beginning - another $700 billion will be needed for a financial industry bailout.
Less than 30 days in office and Obama has already passed some legislation that will go down in history. Obama doesn't mess around.
HOWEVER, if these government officials were actually smart, they would just give me all this money so that I could single handedly jump start the economy. Now THAT is a good idea! I should run for president.
Sources 1 and 2.
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2 comments:
Clayton, you flatter yourself too much. *wink*
I'll say this for the economic stimulus plan, it seems that hardly anyone on Capitol Hill is happy about the final product. And as the old saying goes, "If EVERYBODY hates it, it must be good!" And that means it's good enough me.
Despite being stripped down, here's hoping that it is still able to save us from all plunging into the depths of the ocean of no money. And as someone relying on an economy that will keep his parents employed so that he can afford to go to a university for four years, that's definitely a wish that I'm putting a lot of weight on.
I hope this stimulus plan actually works. It seems as though this "compromise" is really just a way to ensure that neither party can be blamed if the plan fails. The Republicans will say "We told you a huge stimulus wouldn't work" and the Dems will respond with "Well, it would have worked if the Republicans hadn't cut the bill down by $200 billion."
I agree, Obama is doing historic things everyday, but let's not forget that we shouldn't be concerned about what's going to be in the history books under the title "Obama" purely for the sake of doing something important; rather, we should keep the future in mind while perfecting and improving the present.
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