Tax Cut or Stimulus

So the other day President Obama proposed spending $50 Billion on infrastructure projects; he wants to boost jobs and fix things around the country but Republicans are against it.

If you are on the conservative side of the coin you will probably scream bloody murder that the first stimulus program did nothing. Welllllll i hate to disagree with you but it did have an impact.

Anyone who actually examined where the money went from the stimulus understands it kept millions of people working when there were no other alternatives. Those people that actually "followed the money" understand that Republican governors all over the country took it, ran with it and held press conferences saying "Look what we did for you with it" without ever acknowledging that the it was stimulus money. They used it(stimulus money) in their communities, then bad mouthed it(stimulus money) politically. Here is a short list of some of them:
Govs. Mitch Daniels (R-IN),Dave Heineman (R-NE), Sonny Perdue (R-GA), and Phil Bredesen (D-TN),Mark Sanford (R-SC)you remember him, even went to court then quietly took the money. Gov. Pawlenty(R-MN)refused to sign a letter requesting money but his budget already included it(stimulus money), he was counting on the money to balance his budget but he didn't want to tell you that. i could go on but won't.  Forty Seven Governors signed up for the money that alone tells you how dire the situation was.

This report finds that, without both the stimulus and financial policies, the "GDP in 2010 would be about 6 1/2 % lower, payroll employment would be less by some 8 1/2 million jobs on top of the 8 million already lost, and the nation would now be experiencing deflation." Now read that again because naysayers that believe we shouldn't have done anything have to understand where we would be today if we hadn't done the stimulus. Eight and a half million more people without jobs. Isn't it bad enough already?

The reports authors Mr. Blindi and Mr. Zandi estimate the total direct cost of the recession at $1.6 trillion, and the total budgetary cost, after adding in nearly $750 billion in lost revenue from the weaker economy, at $2.35 trillion, or about 16 percent of G.D.P.

By comparison, the savings and loan crisis cost about $350 billion in today’s dollars: $275 billion in direct cost and an additional $75 billion from the recession of 1990-91 — or about 6 percent of G.D.P. at the time. This recession was not President Obamas fault, he's been trying to put band-aids on a gaping wound.

The above may have been too many facts to take for some. i understand i can get a little long winded but having information is important to understanding the issues.

Anyone who has spent any time reading here knows i'm all about spending tax dollars to benefit all of us. Putting our tax dollars to work on roads etc. will benefit some out there and if i ever drive over those roads it will help me too.

To me, the only problem with this $50 billion is it is too small to have the kind of impact that really helps enough people get jobs.

i get lots of conservative bulk e-mails and one thing i always notice is how they appeal to the emotions first. They give you a sob story to make you feel taken advantage of or fearful of something and then leave it to you to reach a conclusion that will not help your bottom line. i wish it wasn't the case. i wish more people would read both sides before reaching any conclusion, because so many buy into the crap that cutting taxes will create jobs.  It doesn't.  Delete the crap e-mails do your own research.

Now on the other hand extending the Bush tax cuts provides for every $1.00 spent $0.10 to $0.40 cents in economic activity, compared with spending a $1.00 on infrastructure and getting $1.20 in economic activity. Republicans all support extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans as a means of boosting the economy but if you look at the numbers above its obvious which one gets more bang for the buck and which one will actually create jobs and boost the economy. Looks like tax cuts give a smaller economic return which doesn't support that "trickle down theory" we are always bombarded with. i could go on and on but won't. You are probably bored by now. i hope you enjoyed the pictures and please think more deeply about where this country is headed. We need to cut back the money we spend on the military(that will reduce our deficit)and invest in ourselves. President Obama can't do it alone, he needs your help, don't vote against yourself in these up coming elections.  Voting for tax cuts won't help you, but it will help those 2% at the top of the food chain.



If you need a tree cutter and you are on St. Croix Louis Broadman is your man.  He did a great job on cutting ours down.  In case you are appalled that we cut down the tree it was rotten in the middle and posed a huge threat.