And I Repeat, The Stimulus Worked Very Well – But We Need More NOW!

Wow, I just came across some really cool tools at ProPublica.org. Here is one and here is another, go check them out. The chart is interactive, simply drag your mouse over a line on the chart and it pops up information about that program. Where have they been all my life. For example, I just found out that my county in Michigan has received $88,359,838 of stimulus money. I commute about 35 miles one way to my day job and in that trek I see countless men and women working at repairing roads, overpasses and bridges. There are streets in my town that haven’t seen fresh pavement in over 20 years. That stimulus money is helping my community in a lot of ways. Prior to the stimulus, it was estimated that the unemployment rate in my town was 38%. I know that those stimulus dollars are helping to keep our community together and viable. I see it everyday, you can’t spin or poo poo that away, it’s real. And yes, for those on the left who scream that it should have been bigger, I agree completely. But simply saying the phrase “should have” doesn’t diminish the effects of what is happening. And saying “should have” is pretty fucking easy for all the arm-chair quarterbacks on the left but actually making it happen is a bit harder with “conservadems” acting like Republicans. WE NEED MORE and we need everyone who claims to be liberal or progressive to help us get it done. That might mean putting aside petty arguments with the administration and actually helping the people of America. There are signs that the Obama administration is working on more stimulus. Here is a piece from a Wall Street Journal article…

The Obama administration is considering a range of new measures to boost economic growth, including tax cuts and a new nationwide infrastructure program, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The president’s economic team has met frequently in recent days to list ways to bolster the struggling recovery, according to government officials.

Of course, with November looming on the horizon, the prospects of getting something done are pretty slim. But of course no one ever thought we would pass Health Care Reform and POW, we did it, bitches. It is really sad that in America, politics are more important than people’s lives, jobs and homes. The asshats in the Senate and the House are more concerned about getting re-elected than the long term stability of our country or the people who are losing their homes. I miss the days when at least some of the politicians in Washington stood up for principles and did what was right for the country instead of their own selfish, short term interests. I guess in the poll-driven media culture we find ourselves in, we are pretty much fucked. That is why I like President Obama so much, he isn’t afraid to take on big issues even when some in his own party turn on him because of it. And it doesn’t help that the blogosphere is loaded with so many politically immature blowhards who really don’t have a clue how Washington works and think a president can just make people do things. And when you try to clue them in, they simply cover their ears and go nah, nah, nah, nah like a bunch of junior high school kids. Pathetic.

We all have to do our part to help push for more stimulus, for the long term health of our country. Write your congresspeople, comment on blogs….we need your help.

Don’t Believe The Compulsive Liars – The Stimulus Worked And Continues To Work

Reality, what a concept! Republicans and their complicit media have succeeded in creating an alternate reality that isn’t based on facts, but well tooled opinions that get repeated over and over and over again on right wing radio, right wing television (you know who you are), cable news networks all trying to be as shallow as the ratings leader of cable news and since everyone is doing it, even the broadcast networks. As this alternate reality has been taking form over the last year, I continued to see analysis by countless economists without political agendas and yes, even conservative economists, that say the stimulus has been wildly successful at preventing more job losses and in recent months, increases in jobs. Here is one story from February…

Just look at the outside evaluations of the stimulus. Perhaps the best-known economic research firms are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s Economy.com. They all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative.

[...]

For that, the stimulus package, flaws and all, deserves a big heaping of credit. “It prevented things from getting much worse than they otherwise would have been,” Nariman Behravesh, Global Insight’s chief economist, says. “I think everyone would have to acknowledge that’s a good thing.”

Something I’ve heard recently that proves the idiocy of Republicans and the media is the idea that because President Obama “promised” an unemployment rate of 8% and we haven’t reached it yet, that proves that the stimulus didn’t work. Let’s break that down. First, the 8% forecast was made early on in the administration before the dust had settled on the economic meltdown. A reminder for some folks that President Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009, please store that in your brains for a minute. Everything that happened prior to that date, was done by the Bush administration. Everything leading up to that day in regards to the economy, happened under Bush. I’m sure the pea brains on the right will jump to the “stop blaming Bush” line that they trot out whenever anyone tries to give perspective to how we got where we are. How can they put everything at the foot of Obama after just 18 months, but can’t wrap their heads around the fact that being president for 8 years kind of lays some of the responsibility for the state of the economy at your feet. It is surreal that the media can now discard 8 years of gutting our economy and because Obama has been president for 18 months now, it’s ALL his fault. “Can’t blame Bush anymore, it’s Obama’s now” has become the new media line.

I just heard David Gregory, who seems to have an agenda when it comes to the Obama administration, present the stimulus as if its sole purpose was to keep unemployment at 8%, nothing else, that was the only reason and measure. The Republicans have succeeded in brainwashing the media and therefore the public of this meme. I live in Michigan where every day I see the stimulus dollars at work and I’ve said it before, those people working on the roads and bridges are collecting checks, paying their bills, paying their taxes, buying stuff that helps business stay afloat…..how can the right wing dismiss these people as non existent. All those teachers, police and firefighters that have kept their jobs because of the stimulus…I hear the right wing refer to them as government jobs as if they are robots, not people. Since when did a teacher, a cop and a firefighter become government workers?

I’m going to continue to push back against the perpetual lies of the Republicans, although it’s hard to keep track of all the lies that spew out of the right of this country. For a party that claims to be rooted in Christianity, there sure is a lot of sinning going on. I guess hypocrisy doesn’t just show up in their politics but in their very being.

Bill Gates Says The Stimulus Worked

Check out this clip of Bill Gates on This Week, at about 6:35 he talks about how the stimulus prevented a collapse of our economy. A little later he says a second stimulus that is targeted would be a good thing.

Bill Gates is very measured in what he says, not a political guy at all and very practical. I never liked the way Microsoft did business while he was running the company, but the man himself is pretty amazing. His philanthropy is changing the world. Kudos to Bill Gates…..I never thought I’d say that 10 years ago.

The Stimulus Worked Very Well!

Even though the right wing has had some success at sticking to message and brainwashing the “American People” and the media, the so called “Stimulus Bill” or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has been extremely successful. From an article in the New York Times…

Just look at the outside evaluations of the stimulus. Perhaps the best-known economic research firms are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s Economy.com. They all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative.

I think it is proof that government can spur growth (5.7% in the last quarter), can you imagine how much more there could have been if the bill didn’t have so many tax cuts to placate the Republicans who didn’t freakin vote for it. The stimulus worked in a lot of ways…

In the early months of last year, spending by state and local governments was falling rapidly, as was tax revenue. In the spring, tax revenue continued to drop, yet spending jumped — during the very time when state and local officials were finding out roughly how much stimulus money they would be receiving. This is the money that has kept teachers, police officers, health care workers and firefighters employed.

Then there is corporate spending. It surged in the final months of last year. Mark Zandi of Economy.com (who has advised the McCain campaign and Congressional Democrats) says that the Dec. 31 expiration of a tax credit for corporate investment, which was part of the stimulus, is a big reason…

…For that, the stimulus package, flaws and all, deserves a big heaping of credit. “It prevented things from getting much worse than they otherwise would have been,” Nariman Behravesh, Global Insight’s chief economist, says. “I think everyone would have to acknowledge that’s a good thing.”

I guess in this “what have you done for me lately” country that we live in, memories are short, patience is short and the spin-meisters rule the world. Democrats tend to be more honorable people and won’t use the nasty tactics that the Republicans use. Blatant lying, manufactured stories, up is down, down is up and of course they have a syndicate of media to get their messages out, which the MSM then just repeats without correcting lies, errors or misleading interpretations. What the hell good is the MSM anyway?