Obama's recovery plan. Too much too fast?

[Anonymous]

I am a bit concerned about how spendy his plan is. Our problem started because "we" overspent. I am afraid that oodles of dollars will be wasted on useless projects WRT energy and so on.
I like the overall plan, but he seems to want to roll it out too fast.

[Anonymous]

If no stimulus plan is passed, CBO is projecting a deficit this year of $1.2 TRILLION. If you take out the excess social security taxes that are supposedly going into a trust fund, the number is higher. Now add minimum $800 billion ... ARGH!!!

Recession is no time for spending cuts, as if we needed to worry about that possibility. But ... I feel Obama is using this recessions, albeit a severe one, as cover for massive spending very much like Bush used 9/11 as cover for the war in Iraq.

[Anonymous]

Basically, it's all window dressing. The stimulus plan would have to be so much larger to make a difference, and even then it will take a while. The tax cuts for industry are a concession to Republicans to get their support, but they will not create jobs.

Obama's tax cuts will provide a temporary boost, but no lasting effect on the economy. The large-scale spending on public works projects will provide jobs, but much of it will be wasted, as in any public spending plan. A WPA-type jobs program might make a difference, but that's a long-term project, and Obama wants to look like he's doing something quickly.

Remember the $700 billion that was supposed to rescue the financial industry? Mortgage relief for homeowners so they can remain in their homes may ease the housing crisis a bit, but their mortgages are so tangled up in those complex securities that even that is not so simple.

There is no quick way to solve an economic crisis caused by excessive lending -- the U.S. economy has been supported by debt, and that has to collapse at some point. It's been like an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Dwarfing Medoff's.

Clinton started it, but Bush has made it so much worse, allowing the financial industry to go wild. He's dumped the colossal economic mess he's created on Obama, who has to deal with the political reality of looking like he's trying to solve it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Clinton started it, but Bush has made it so much worse, allowing the financial industry to go wild. He's dumped the colossal economic mess he's created on Obama, who

along with a spend thrift congress is going to hammer the last nail into the coffin.

[Anonymous]

Actually many economists (like this year's Nobel Prize winner) think it is too little, too slow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/opinion/09krugman.html

[Anonymous]

To me, it just sounds like a lot of ideas that Obama is simply throwing out there for Congress to mull over. He's not quite president yet, but it's refreshing to see him hit-the-ground-running.

I'm curious to see what gets passed, but the true effect (whether positive or negative) may not be as obvious especially if its for a long term strategy.

Plus, there are so many aspects to the economy - bailouts, spending, saving, taxes, unemployment, SS, the war, oil, etc. that Obama may need X amount different plans to address them all (and of course, everyone will want to debate the pros/cons of each plan).