Economists Agree: Pass Stimulus Package Immediately

While economists remain divided on the role of government generally, an overwhelming number from both parties are saying that a government stimulus package -- even a flawed one -- is urgently needed to help prevent a steeper slide in the economy.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Grannysue]

Rethuglicans are clueless!

[Claireify]

Our president has called the multi-billion bonus situation shameful and irresponsible. How about criminal, greedy, dishonest, and inhumane. Senator Claire McCaskill is the only voice of sanity I’ve heard on the airwaves. Where are the rest of you hiding?

Americans have GOT to grow some cajones. While we’re fighting the war(s) against terror, we need to start the war against incompetence. It’s time to go fearless a la Arianna Huffington. Go back a few more decades to Jill Clayburgh’s telling line in An Unmarried Woman. “Balls!” said the Queen. “If I had them, I’d be King.”

We are all asking how we got into this economic quagmire. For starters, your alleged “superiors” don’t know jack about what is going on in the real world. They are sheep who have been elevated to their elaborate offices, salaries, stock options, bonuses and overblown titles by brown-nosing. They are indecisive and so far removed from the audience they want to attract that all they know how to do is invent insane money-making ideas based on their own needs. Then, when failure rears its ugly head, they are dumbfounded, oblivious to why things didn’t work out. And you are the fall guy.

It's time to get mad as Hell and don’t take it anymore. Maybe there’s a correlation with anger triggered by unsubstantiated accusations and infringements on your right to free speech. It’s a great feeling to know your balls are growing back.

[Jazzcomedian]

After reviewing all the financial data worldwide, regarding the global economic crisis, due to excessive indebtedness, I've advised Chairman Bernanke, and Secretary Geithner, there are only two possible ways for governments, and central bankers to stop the global economic tailspin, and restore Earth to economic growth:

1. Forgive all debt, and let everybody keep what they have--free. That way everybody starts over, and people owed money won't lose, because they won't have to pay the people they owe--all the way up the debt chain. The wealthy creditors at the top of the debt chain could write off the losses on their taxes. In addition, extract affidavits from every debtor/banker in the world promising to never engage in irresponsible financial behavior again. The banks worldwide could then have "toxic securities" burning parties, freeing up capital to lend.

2. Relax counterfeiting laws, so everybody can print money accepted everywhere. Institute reasonable standards, so people can't make money in any color, or on any paper they want, and allow merchants the discretion to reject currency they feel looks too absurd, thus forcing people to make money of higher quality. Businesses would have lower payroll costs, since workers could make the money they need, if they feel their salary is too low. No need for credit cards, and banks would be flush with deposits of their customer's newly made money.

Economic self-suffiency would free the Fed of the responsibility of printing money, and let them concentrate solely on monetary policy.

[TheIntellectualRedneck]

According to the CBO, the stimulus bill will actually hurt the economy in the long run. However, there is the possibility it will stimulate illegal immigration. In addition to providing up to 300 thousand construction jobs for illegal aliens, the bill will bail out irresponsible states like California. This will allow them to avoid dealing with one of the primary reasons they have a budget deficit. That reason is the extensive and expensive social net they have extended to illegal immigrants. Obama's stimulus will stimulate illegal immigration

[joebaggadonuts]

Take a look at what doing nothing has cost so far:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKL666696020090209

[WowJones]

You really could use a new moniker. I might suggest "DamiensStepSon".

[2garen]

So as Nero fiddles,i.e. Republicans say we need to slow down while Rome is burning i.e. the United States gets worse as the days go by....

[rasit]

Current Unempoyment Rate by State, National Average 7.6
51 MICHIGAN 9.6
50 RHODE ISLAND 9.3
48 CALIFORNIA 8.4
48 SOUTH CAROLINA 8.4
47 OREGON 8.1
45 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 8
45 NEVADA 8
44 NORTH CAROLINA 7.9
43 GEORGIA 7.5
39 ALASKA 7.3
39 FLORIDA 7.3
39 ILLINOIS 7.3
39 OHIO 7.3
38 MISSISSIPPI 7.2
37 INDIANA 7.1
36 KENTUCKY 7
35 TENNESSEE 6.9
34 MISSOURI 6.7
33 CONNECTICUT 6.6
31 MINNESOTA 6.4
31 WASHINGTON 6.4
29 ARIZONA 6.3
29 MAINE 6.3
25 ALABAMA 6.1
25 NEW JERSEY 6.1
25 NEW YORK 6.1
25 PENNSYLVANIA 6.1
24 MASSACHUSETTS 5.9
23 COLORADO 5.8
19 ARKANSAS 5.7
19 IDAHO 5.7
19 TEXAS 5.7
19 VERMONT 5.7
17 DELAWARE 5.6
17 WISCONSIN 5.6
15 LOUISIANA 5.3
15 MARYLAND 5.3
12 HAWAII 4.9
12 KANSAS 4.9
12 MONTANA 4.9
11 VIRGINIA 4.8
10 OKLAHOMA 4.7
9 WEST VIRGINIA 4.6
6 IOWA 4.3
6 NEW HAMPSHIRE 4.3
6 NEW MEXICO 4.3
4 NEBRASKA 3.7
4 UTAH 3.7
3 SOUTH DAKOTA 3.4
2 NORTH DAKOTA 3.3
1 WYOMING 3.2
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

[KingdomofGod]

Hey Einstein do you have a point?.

[adey]

I see you got your new talking points/"clever" responses. You need better writers.

[Jessegirl]

You mean you missed it again?
Do you even have any fun here?

[rasit]

Yes, I do have a point, but you DO NOT have the bra*ins to COMPREHEND IT.....Typical Neocn RePUKElian.....

[hortonhearsawho2]

Source: URanus

[WowJones]

The point is you need to step up your sale of Watch Tower or risk being unemployed.

[adey]

Too many facts! Their heads will explode!

[victoria38]

Hey rasit...how 'bout putting an R or D bsides each state...let's see which party is better...

[sueinmn]

They announced this morning if you add the underemployed it averages 14% nation wide!

[Tom Joad]

based on the numbers posted here, the average = 6.1%. That said, the unemployment rates are rising everywhere and Congress better enact legislation to create jobs very quickly. It's the workers who make the economy. No workers = no production, no production = no revenue, no revenue = no economy. The privileged class should take note, since they produce nothing but are the very embodiment of the phrase 'high maintenance'.

[rockyb26]

thank you for posting this!

[CheshireCat2]

GaBu See Profile I'm a Fan of GaBu I'm a fan of this user permalink

I see America's oil and gas companies are pus-hing their drill here dr-ill now ad campaign, while T Bo-one Pickens seems to have disappeared off the scene.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:12 AM on 02/08/2009
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He's out buying wind turbines faster than you can say, "Santa Ana."

[Tom Joad]

that's a fact. I heard Pickens is the majority landholder in Nebraska and is busy buying up the Dakotas.

[rockyb26]

the MSM is complicit in this distortion and distraction. the only people i see interviewing real economists are rachel and keith. cbs offered up bill o for his opinions on the stimulus the other day. i didn't know he was an economist. they trot out politicians and political strategists to teach economics to the masses. no wonder people are so stoopid and confused.

[rasit]

Corporate Media serving their Masters....

[KingdomofGod]

Keith and rachel can go b low each other.

[indypete]

Spoken like a true Christian.

By the way.... Shouldn't you be in church praying for bad things to happen to gays?

[CheshireCat2]

MNmommy

Concerning your request about TChallenge. You would be lucky to find a Teen in Teen Challenge. That is primarily how they dress it up. Most of them are burned out dopers in their 30's and 40's.

[Jessegirl]

Mabey the Repubs are more fiscally responsible.
Mabey they are more controlled and careful with money and "the numbers".
Mabey they do care about debt piling up and its future impact.
Which is why I am going to be fair and ask:

Can any Repub out there tell me how much Eye-rack cost us per month?
How much it cost us so far in total and how much we'll pay in the future?

I know you all must know the answer being so good with the numbers and all.
I'll wait...(while you google and then barf)

Be prepared for "diverted responses" people.

[indypete]

Kingdom? Gault? This is your chance, lads! Make us proud!

[adey]

They are waiting for emergency delivery of page 3 of their talking points.

[CheshireCat2]

Iraq was a mess and anyone with half a brain knows that. Many of us were never for the initial invasion anyway.

It would be kind of them to return some of that cash from their oil profits when they are at peak as well.

[indypete]

Well, we did turn their cities into rubble.... It would only be polite for them to give us their money.

[rockyb26]

their silence is deafening. 10 billion a month in iraq so far

[Jessegirl]

and it's worse than that.

nothing to show for it.

[bluejay10027]

Why do Reid and Pelosi keep approving the funding?

Stop the funding it right now!


Oh wait, BO broke another promise and is going to keep us there for another 2 years. And the genius is about to crank up Afghanistan.

[Tom Joad]

if you count the money we spend importing oil from Persian Gulf states (imports we are subsidizing with our military involvement), then the actual cost is more like $15B/month.

The Miliken Institute (an economic think-tank in CA) published papers about two years ago suggesting the long-term cost of the war would exceed $2T.

[2garen]

fiscally responsible?? billions missing from Iraqu, Largest deficit in the history of the U.S.Over the last eight years and who controlled the congress over that time? Two years of that time the Gop blocked, supressed any thing that did not support their lobbyist friends, IT is all bout their buddies and themselves and forget the waste, abuse, fraud , Katrina, Medicare, it goes on and on..

[Heavy]

Compassionate conservativism = a reacharound.

[Heavy]

Republicans outed our own CIA agents working on proliferation of W.M.D. while claiming to care about our national security.
Republicans pushed for selling our port security to Dubai, while claiming to care about our national security.
Bush didn't even have he intellectual curiosity to read his PDBs then criticized dems for being unpatriotic.
Clean Air means more pollution,
No Child Left Behind means less educational funding
Patriot Act means gutting our constitution
etc etc
Your party can rot. You no longer have any say.

[indypete]

But they wear flag pins in their lapels.

[Heavy]

And don't forget those classy purple bandaids they wore.

[rasit]

The Dems. ought to introduce a bill to make sure that ALL states receive ONE DOLLAR BACK in Federal Spending, for every ONE DOLLAR COLLECTED in Federal Tax from that State.....That will CUT the WELFARE the Conferate States have been RECEIVING...

Then let us see how the Republican Reps. and Senators vote for that bill?

[bluejay10027]

Maybe the states should stop sending taxes to the Federal government period.

[bluejay10027]

Why did demogods vote down the trigger amendment?

[indypete]

Because Roy Rogers wasn't consulted?

(Sorry.... showing my age).

[bluejay10027]

Both old and stupid. You must have it rough.

[begabug]

si jeunesse savait.