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Stimulus II? Middle Class Tax Hikes? Romer Says Maybe.

Aug 7

Posted by Shawn in Obama, Stimulus

White House economic adviser Christina Romer said yesterday that the first stimulus package has been a success.

 

“In other words, after we administered the medicine, an economy that was in free fall has stabilized substantially, and now looks as though it could begin to recover in the second half of the year,” Romer told The Economic Club.

 

But if the economy doesn’t continue to improve, Romer thinks we should pass a second stimulus that will put the country further in debt.

 

“That said, if we come to the end of the year, if we’re not seeing the kinds of results that we anticipate … we’d start thinking about other things that need to be done.”

 

And apparently Romer did not learn from the mistakes of Geithner and Summers last Sunday.  She would not say the Administration won’t raise taxes on the middle class.

 

“You know the president has made it very clear through the campaign that middle-class families have really gotten a bum deal, not just in this recession but probably for at least the last 10 years, and that’s why he does not want to do anything that burdens middle-class families,” Romer said. “And obviously no one is talking about raising taxes.”

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Generic Ballot Lead For Dems; Voters Prepared To Wait On Stimulus

Jul 29

Posted by Shawn in Congressional Races, Stimulus

A new George Washington University Battleground Poll offers different results than the NPR poll on the generic ballot.  GWU shows Democrats leading by a small margin.

 

The July 19 to 23 survey of 1,000 registered likely voters released Wednesday found that 43 percent of those surveyed said they would back the Democratic candidate for Congress in their districts, while 40 percent said they would support a Republican. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

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In addition, 41 percent of those surveyed said that preferred a divided government, where Congress is controlled by one party and another holds the White House, compared to 39 percent who favor a unified government.

 

Stimulus polling shows mixed results.  It appears voters are prepared to wait for the package to work.

 

But on the economic stimulus package and other key initiatives, voters remained skeptical. Just 33 percent said the stimulus was working, while 61 percent said it was not. Still, 58 percent said it was “on track” and should be given a year to show results.

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DNC Launches Ads Targeting GOP Leadership

Jul 29

Posted by Shawn in Congress, Stimulus

The DNC is attacking Republican leaders in Congress.  The national cable ad buy focuses on Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Jon Kyl, Rep. John Boehner, and Rep. Eric Cantor.  Similar radio ads will run in their districts, as well as the district of Rep. Mike Pence.  The ad states the GOP leadership helped cause the recession and then opposed policies that are now creating jobs.  Republicans should prepare for attacks like this leading up to 2010.  Right now, it is a stretch for the DNC to claim the stimulus has created jobs, but when the economy actually recovers, voters may see things their way.

 

Radio ad scripts are available here.

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Hoyer: Extend Jobless Benefits

Jul 14

Posted by Shawn in Congress, Stimulus

Following President Obama’s claim earlier today that unemployment will continue to rise, Steny Hoyer has indicated the House will extend jobless benefits.

 

With the unemployment rate at its highest in two decades, the U.S. House of Representatives will work to extend jobless benefits “when it becomes necessary,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday.

 

Hoyer says he is hopeful the stimulus package will boost the economy soon.

 

On the broader issue of the shape of the U.S. economy and the possible need for additional economic stimulus, Hoyer responded, “I’m hopeful this quarter and in the next quarter of the year … that we will see some positive effect” of the $787 billion in planned government spending to pull the economy out of recession.

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Say What? Obama Claims Unemployment Will Continue Rising

Jul 14

Posted by Shawn in Obama, Stimulus

As always, President Obama is doing his best to inspire Americans…by telling us unemployment will continue to rise in the coming months.  This breaks sharply with the economic forecasts the Administration offered to get the stimulus bill through Congress earlier this year.

 

“My expectation is, is that we will probably continue to see unemployment tick up for several months,” Obama said. “And the challenge for this administration is to make sure that even as we are stabilizing the financial system … are people able to find good jobs that pay good wages?”

 

More than 2 million jobs have been lost since Congress passed Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package. Without that government intervention, Obama said, states like Michigan would be in even worse shape because they would have had to lay off more teachers, firefighters and other workers.

 

Obama said renewed hiring tends to lag behind other signs of economic recovery. The White House has been criticized for being overly rosy in its projections of the economic rebound, particularly in terms of employment.

 

Time pointed out this morning that the stimulus plan has not even come close to fulfilling the Administration’s promises.  

 

In February, top Administration officials made bold predictions for stimulus success.

 

Back in February, with Congress moving swiftly to approve President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package, White House budget director Peter Orszag said the benefits of the stimulus would be “take weeks to months” to be felt.

 

Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, was even more optimistic: “You’ll see the effects begin almost immediately,” Summers told CNN in February. 

 

We’re clearly still waiting for the stimulus to work…

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Poll: Obama Agenda Faces Hurdles

Jul 14

Posted by Shawn in Healthcare, Obama, Stimulus

A new poll from CBS News offers some important indications from Americans that the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats are losing control over their agenda.  In the past month, Obama has declined six points in approval, and this is a loss that comes primarily from Democratic and independent voters.

 

President Obama’s approval rating has fallen six points in the past month [to 57%], a new CBS News poll finds, amid growing skepticism about his handling of the economy and questions about the impact of the stimulus package.

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The decline in support is coming not from Republicans - whose support for the president has actually risen - but from Democrats and independents. While 82 percent of Democrats still approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing, this number is down ten points from last month.

 

The president’s support among independents has fallen eight points to 50 percent. Only 30 percent of Republicans back Mr. Obama, though that’s up from 23 percent in June.

 

Congress remains strikingly unpopular.

 

And only 22 percent approve of the job Congress is doing overall, a decrease of six points from last month though an increase over its approval rating last fall.

 

Republicans will need to continue stressing the failure of the stimulus package.  Voters are growing increasingly frustrated with its failure to live up to expectations set out by the Administration.

 

Despite White House efforts to stress the implementation of the stimulus package, just 21 percent say it has had a positive impact on the economy. The majority of those surveyed - 60 percent - say it has had no impact, while 15 percent say the stimulus has made the economy worse.

 

On healthcare, things may be looking slightly better for Obama, but still less than half of those surveyed approve of his reform efforts.  Taxpayers are concerned with the potential costs they will have to pay to fund a massive overhaul.

 

Perceptions of the president’s handling of health care reform have improved five points since last month, and his approval rating on the issue now stands at 49 percent.

 

That same percentage says that America must fix health care because of the bad economy. But nearly as many - 46 percent - say the country cannot now afford to reform health care. Among Republicans that figure is 55 percent.

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“Less Stimulating Than Its Architects Expected”

Jul 14

Posted by Shawn in Stimulus

Time has a must-read article today highlighting the failure of the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus plan.

 

The $787 billion stimulus plan is turning out to be far less stimulating than its architects expected.

 

Back in early January, when Obama was still President-elect, two of his chief economic advisers, and leading proponents of a stimulus bill, predicted that the passage of a large economic-aid package would boost the economy and keep the unemployment rate below 8%. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Last month, the jobless rate in America hit 9.5%, the highest level it has reached since 1983.

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[The Administration originally argued] that even by the middle of this year, the stimulus bill would have a positive effect on the unemployment rate. Without the stimulus, the two economists predicted, the unemployment rate would rise to around 8.5% by the middle of this year; add the stimulus, and that rate would drop by a half a point. In reality, the unemployment rate is a full percentage point higher than Romer and Bernstein predicted it would be with no stimulus.

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Could Deficit Concerns Slow Healthcare And Stimulus II?

Jul 14

Posted by Shawn in Congress, Healthcare, Obama, Stimulus

Yesterday, we learned that President Obama has led us into a $1.1 trillion deficit with 3 months still remaining in the fiscal year.  As taxpayers see our country’s debt grow exponentially from Obama’s pork barrel stimulus projects and other liberal initiatives, they have to wonder whether this is a time we should be passing legislation that will add to our budget shortfalls.  The Wall Street Journal reports today that the new record deficit will likely slow Obama’s agenda. 

 

The deficit will be a talking point that the GOP can hammer for weeks and months to come.  After the deficit news was reported yesterday, House Minority Leader John Boehner released a statement:

 

“This trillion-dollar deficit makes clear that our nation’s fiscal situation is dire, yet Washington Democrats keep borrowing and spending money we don’t have and forcing our children and grandchildren to foot the bill.”

 

Moderate Democrats in Congress will struggle to overcome public pressure to slow down spending.  This could halt any efforts to pass a second stimulus package, and it could seriously complicate healthcare reform.

 

Surging deficits could also tie the administration’s hands in responding to the economy’s problems, by eroding support among voters and making Congress leery of adopting policies — such as an overhaul of the health-care system — that the administration believes are necessary for sustainable growth.

 

It could be hard to win congressional approval for another round of fiscal stimulus, if that was seen as necessary, even as the economy continues to lag and the unemployment rate continues to rise, hitting 9.5% in June.

 

Healthcare costs are estimated to top $1 trillion over the next ten years. Vulnerable members of Congress will be hesitant to add to the national debt.  Democrats often make the claim that a healthcare overhaul will cut the deficit, but in order to accomplish that, the potential plans are likely to contain significant tax increases.  Estimates for savings are also currently based on fuzzy math.

 

President Barack Obama on Monday stressed the importance of enacting health-care legislation as a way to bring down long-term deficits. A spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, Kenneth Baer, termed health-care reform “the key to our fiscal future.”

 

But some budget watchdogs worry that Congress eventually could pass health-care legislation that relies on uncertain long-term savings, while substantially increasing short-term government expenditures.

 

Also released today is a USA Today/Gallup poll showing that Americans want healthcare reform but are not enthusiastic about the proposed methods of paying for it.  Democrats will struggle in the coming weeks to fight off challenges to their reckless spending.  One thing possibly working in their favor is that the country’s top newspapers largely ignored the deficit news today.

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Stimulus Prevented Depression, Says Schumer

Jul 13

Posted by Shawn in Stimulus

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said today on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the stimulus package prevented an economic collapse.

 

Schumer maintains it’s too early to assess the stimulus as a job-creator, saying, “The president came in in the worst economic times since the Depression. Financial markets were shut and we risked the Great Depression. We truly risked the Great Depression.”

 

He added, “The initial thrust of the stimulus package was to get some money out there into the economy quickly because if not you have a deflationary spiral. Now, it’s accomplished that goal. We don’t risk the Great Depression. The second phase of the stimulus is job creation….”

 

Schumer indicated we will need to see how the economy performs in the coming months before looking at a second stimulus.

 

Pressed on whether he believes another stimulus package is necessary, Schumer said there is not much of a political appetite for such a  measure “at the moment.”

 

However, Schumer said, if unemployment gets worse, “it’s something we’d have to look at.”

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Your Stimulus Dollars At Work – In My Hometown

Jul 10

Posted by Shawn in Stimulus

Yesterday, Joe Biden visited Ohio to ask Americans for patience as the stimulus spending picks up.

 

Biden said money from the $787 billion stimulus bill is flowing and will flow faster, directly saving public service jobs. He urged Americans to recognize the severity of the administration’s inherited problems and promised, “You’re going to see more pace on the ball.”

 

This prompted House Minority Leader John Boehner to ask, “The people of Ohio — like people all over America — have a right to know: Where are the jobs?”

 

I have been visiting my parents in Ohio for the past week.  I don’t typically read the local newspaper while I’m here, but my mom wanted to show me the front-page photo of our new library.  I have been hearing about the library ever since I got home. 

 

The community is excited.  The old library was small and didn’t have a great selection.  The new building, however, is spacious and will provide far more room than this small town will ever need.  The building itself is paid for, but to go along with the new building, new furnishings and equipment are needed.  How do we pay for this? Stimulus money.

 

The latest local recipient of federal stimulus money is the Leetonia Public Library, which will receive $204,000 to purchase new furnishings and equipment to go along with its new building.

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The following is a breakdown of how the money will be spent: furniture, $71,212; metal shelving, $64,300; three servers and 25 new computers, $28,832; signage, $28,234; security system, $5,130; phone system, $4,520; and book trucks, $1,340.

 

Note that the library itself was not built on stimulus money.  They’re primarily just buying furniture and “signage.”  I want my hometown to have a nice new library, but I question whether stimulus money should pay for it.  America is suffering from record unemployment.  The stimulus bill was supposed to be about creating jobs.  Barack Obama explained this when he signed it:

 

And what makes this recovery plan so important is not just that it will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years. … It’s that we’re putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done, in critical areas…in critical areas that have been neglected for too long; work that will bring real and lasting change for generations to come.

 

I fail to see how purchasing book shelves and phones is going to help put people back to work.  More spending is not going to create jobs, and this is a primary example.  If we want to stimulate the economy, we need to cut taxes for small businesses and middle class Americans.  Instead, Obama has thrown money at projects that have no direct effect on creating jobs.  America has an economic crisis, and the Administration is buying furniture.  And we wonder why unemployment continues to rise…

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