Comments on: Stimulus: Drawing the battle lines

By: Robin Stelly

Robin Stelly — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:59:04 +0000

The mistake then is to simply defend the existing plan; instead, it is time to go on the attack, and outline everything that we weren’t doing to build America, while we were busy tearing apart Iraq.

You’re exactly right. Defense is a losing position against the GOP and the status quo. We need to demand a trillion dollar recovery package that does what you suggest and tackles some of the most pressing health care issues, e.g. SCHIP.

By: siri

siri — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:56:29 +0000

if you haven’t, check out the Hay-Adams. I found the history fascinating. Pretty good photos onsite.

By: Raven

Raven — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:20:49 +0000

people just can’t imagine it’s best to FTU!

By: bigbrother

bigbrother — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:16:31 +0000

The overall economy is stimulated most by capitalizing. That is what the bailout is not doing. Reducing the oil payments off shore by swithching to solar thermal and other sustainable alternative energy increaes capital.
Stop spending on wars and bring that capital into the domestic economy that will produce something besides destruction.
Re capitalize manufacturing in a new direction with growth potential and private capital will follow into the market.
Please read at least the review of “Earth: The Sequel” which shows the position private capital is ready to assume in the energy industry.
Start encouraging private capital to come back into the market where it will get the most traction.
Ban gambling on Credit Default Swaps and othe non productive capital investment…they got us into this deppression.
Regulate the equity markets, the rating agencies and the insuring agencies.
Bring accountability into the equation.

By: reader

reader — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:05:34 +0000

Raven @ 8

yup, all of these stories are about how *some* people WANT Obama to react … which is surely much less intelligent than the reaction we will eventually get from Obama himself.

I am willing to wait. It’s not his fault the ME is exploding. But they’ll try to blame it on Obama. That’s part of their game. I expect he’s on to it.

By: PhilK

PhilK — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:05:09 +0000

What I find amazing is how much power the ideas of Mellon and Hoover still have in Republican-land.

It should be remembered that FDR entered the presidency with a platform almost as Hoovery and Mellonesque as H & M themselves. The big govt projects for which his admin is famous all came after he was in the WH.

By: BooRadley

BooRadley — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:04:52 +0000

You have a terrific ability to make complex issues accessible:

The key to getting stimulus to work, is first to make sure that people will spend it, and that the people they give it to will spend it. The second is to make sure that as much of the money goes to do things that would not have been done otherwise. The third is to make sure that it generates some long term economic activity. The fourth is to make sure that it doesn’t just get sucked up by price increases. Tax cuts fail on four for four. Defense spending fails for much of the same reason. When your taxes go down, every one who charges you money knows it, and raises prices accordingly. Last time we made minor reductions in taxes on wages, employers just cut back on wage increases. Chances are your boss and your gas station, not you, got your last tax cut. It’s not your money unless you get the benefits.

By: ThingsComeUndone

ThingsComeUndone — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:04:51 +0000

No war bring the troops home. We can get Ossama by cutting off his cash we should use military funding to make hybrids, electric cars etc after all the less oil we use the less money the arabs have to give to Ossama.
I want the price of oil to drop so low the Saudi’s, Pakistani’s etc turn Ossama in to us voluntarily!
Add 1/4 of the military budget to building roads, high speeded rails, high speed rails for freight (I think nobody has that) and use the rest of the stimulus to get civilians working and get hybrids, electric cars etc

By: ThingsComeUndone

ThingsComeUndone — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:59:15 +0000

We have lawyers if the owners is more a plant manager then we also go after the owner the Feds have lawyers who should be able to find them.
Plus we publish a list of who buys how much of their meat from the worse plants. Then we show photos of the plants, the rats, the sick workers with no healthcare coughing.
I’m betting that Wallmart is at the top of the list!
The GOP will claim that we are targeting them, we say no the GOP has been protecting them. Then we announce that we have some meat that the FDA flagged that was going to Wallmart one of their biggest contributors and would they like to come to a barbecue?
If they say no point out that they would have bought it from the stores in a few days.
Then we wait for one GOPer to admit he and or his wife doesn’t shop there on tape!

By: BooRadley

BooRadley — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:57:05 +0000

Thanks Stirling.

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