After years of political and economic doom and gloom, should we celebrate good economic news and keep moving our country forward?
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Known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (A.R.R.A), the stimulus was and is fiercely debated and appears highly contested, if one listens to political rhetoric and the blogosphere.
The University of Chicago Initiative on Global Markets, regularly surveys leading economists on a variety of policy issues. The economists are chosen to represent a geographic, age and political affiliation (Democrats, Republican, Independent) diversity.
In two key issues most economists agree:
1. Question: Because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the United States unemployment rate was lower at the end of 2010 that it would have been without the stimulus bill. 36 agree stimulus reduced unemployment and 1 disagrees.*
2. Question: Taking into account all of the A.R.R.A.’s economic consequences – including economic costs of raising taxes to pay for the spending, its effects on future spending, and any other likely future effects – the benefits of the stimulus will end up exceeding its costs. 25 economists agree that benefits of fiscal stimulus exceeds costs, 2 disagree, 10 uncertain.*
Source: University of Chicago Initiative on Global Markets, Economic Experts Panel, July 29,
• These responses are almost identical to an earlier survey taken in 2012Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free
Considering the current national unemployment rates is down to 6,1% and the fact that the economy is finally growing above trend, should we stop the political vitriol about the stimulus and devote positive energy to build on its benefits? Thoughts?
Photo: Mark Susina /Flicker Photo2: MoDOT /Flicker
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I could do this all day, Tsach, but I don’t have to. EKBA. I keep saying. Everybody knows this stuff
Tsach.
Okay. You get up in the morning and the first thing you do is piss. The feds have regs about the water usage in the toilet. If you like the old kind and try to get one from an old house and install it in your place which may have been built with the new one, you’ve committed a federal crime. There are ways to address the problem without intruding on the citizen’s freedom, but that’s no fun.
As I say, calling a set of facts “talking points” means you agree they’re true–but inconvenient.
Richard, don’t forget, you have to turn on a light ….. you know, one of those funny looking squiggly things, the ones that are bio-hazards when you break them.
Richard,
Again, you are engaging in talking points and the minute you are called on it you disengage. I offered you the opportunity to write a researched substantiated article where you express your opinions based on facts and you chose to disengage. “now you can’t get your morning coffee without the feds involved?” What does that even mean? And you say you don’t use talking points?
It’s easy to throw words around, it takes time and effort to construct an argument and back it up. I, for one, enjoyed our exchange and the offer of an article still stands.
“Now you can’t get your morning coffee without the feds involved.” So true, but we have to face the fact that many states need fed dollars to keep their states running. Feds have done a great job with inching their way into states so that the States become dependent.
Military spending can be cut in a meaningful way without any reduction in our power, the waste in the military budget is legendary, the cold war is long gone and don’t get me started on homeland security! – Actually, that’s incorrect. There is one correct point. Some years ago, a congressman, of whom ho more was heard, asked each of his colleagues to submit a list of unnecessary military expenditures or facilities IN HIS OWN DISTRICT. Crickets, of course. And nobody from your point of view would countenance spending a dime of saved waste on actual combat power. It’s not… Read more »
Richard, Nice to hear the talking points from your friends in the Voodoo economics camp but it does not really work and has never worked. Money is very cheap right now so borrowing, if required, is a bargain. Military spending can be cut in a meaningful way without any reduction in our power, the waste in the military budget is legendary, the cold war is long gone and don’t get me started on homeland security! The Infrastructure program, jobs bill, tax reform, immigration reform and countless other programs and initiatives etc. that would help never got going because of GOP… Read more »
Tsach. Okay. Let’s pretend things are ‘way better than they are. We’ll forget, for example, that NOW forced the admin to divert money from shovel ready jobs to women’s jobs–women not being nearly as hard hit by the recession as blue-collar men. That was the first infrastructure program. Later, O noted that there weren’t as many shovel ready jobs as he’d hoped. Okay. Let’s pretend that the spike in Soc. Scty disability claims is really about disability instead of guys who can’t get work no way…didn’t really happen. Let’s get all optimistic and pretend Obama is doing a great job.… Read more »
Richard, The point it that the economy is improving and unemployment is going down even with all those that dropped out of the job search market. Optimism is needed to build on this and make further improvements. Pressure on this congress (least productive in history) to work with the administration to implement solutions like an infrastructure program, R&D program etc. Public confidence is critical and we all know that as well. I just don’t see any benefit to all the vitriol and doom and gloom from the right plus all the obstruction to any efforts to make anything work. Corporate… Read more »
Tsach. Not to tell you anything you don’t already know. Point is, everybody else knows it. During the Eighties when Reagan’s policies were improving things…… He remarked, that our policies must be working, they’re not calling them Reaganomics any longer. But a liberal faith-based group with which, for my sins, i was working put me on to the real thing. “Discouraged workers”. IOW, those who’ve quit looking for work. When Reagan was POTUS, we were supposed to be very concerned about them, as they didn’t show up in the unemployment numbers. As I say, the point is, everybody knows this.… Read more »