The Nations Economy

In the name of "economic stimulus" nearly $800 BILLION dollars are being wasted on pork barrel projects that will do little or nothing to create jobs or restore the economy. Contrary to popular belief there will be no "stimulus checks" issued to the public at large. Only $26 billion dollars out of nearly one trillion is designated for the cornerstone highway projects that were supposed to jump start the economy and put people back to work. A meager 15% of the "stimulus package" will be spent in 2009. And virtually none of the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds from the previous "bailout" can be traced to "troubled assets".

Meanwhile the public continues to suffer. The money to be spent on "ecomonic stimulus" will have to be borrowed from other countries like China. Interest payments for the stimulus, bank bailouts, TARP and housing fixes that are supposed to help the economy will amount to another $560 billion annually. Yet another heavy burden placed on the American taxpayer's for generations to come. Essentially what this country is doing is leveraging debt, or in other words, it’s like paying off a credit card using another credit card. The amounts continue to compound, the interest continues to accrue, and the debt NEVER gets paid off.

The interest burden from these programs the current congress and administration have passed will amount to the fourth highest line item in the budget behind social security, medicare, and medicaid. I'm reminded of MY grandmother who always told me not to "throw good money after bad". The way out of economic hard times is to CUT spending. Not spend more.

 

 

During the great depression, economists learned that there is only so much intervention the government can take. As your elected representative, I will push to get two things into the hands of the people of this district: 1.) an economic stimulus that the people can use immediately, and 2.) continue giving tax breaks to the working middle class. A combination of both increases the amount of disposable income citizens have – and my friends, this is what it takes to truly stimulate an economy and get us away from negative growth.


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