President Obama has signed the stimulus package. "Today does not mark the end of our economic troubles," Obama said before signing the bill at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. "But it does mark the beginning of the end — the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs; to provide relief for families worried they won't be able to pay next month's bills; and to set our economy on a firmer foundation." [CNN]
Post a comment
Comments:
When does that $250 social security payment come through, both my mom and my dad really could use it and I haven't seen any information on a target date for the payment. Thanks!
It will be interesting to see what happens as this all rolls out. I really do hope it works.
Since we haven't been in exactly a situation like this before (the 30s/40s are drastically different than 2009), I think the only thing we can do is cross our fingers and hope for the best.
And also - keep our political representatives on their toes. Be vocal and outspoken about what you disagree with.
"But it does mark the beginning of the end..."
note to obama speechwriters: you might want to leave phrases like this out of future speeches.
that is all.
Hmmm, what to spend my $13/week on...Into the
non-interest bearing checking account with you!
That stimulates the economy right? Right?
@sebadoh128: I would normally say hookers and blow, but with that number I'm going to recommend a girlie mag and a 40.
@Davan: He's half white, remember. So at the VERY least he means Caucasians and African Americans. Rest easy!
I, for one, welcome our new Socialist Overlords.
@SexCpotatoes: From the gov't SS site:
[www.ssa.gov]
"President Obama recently signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This act provides for the one-time payment of $250 to individuals who get Supplemental Security Income or Social Security benefits."
"We will issue the $250 payment in May 2009. No action is required on your part."
"We are currently working on the details regarding how we will issue over 60 million one-time payments to our beneficiaries."
--------------------------------
@sebadoh128: Yes! It will provide capital for investment in the production of real goods.
Of course this $13 is part of the newly printed money -- therefore, it, and all the other money you have has less purchasing/capital improvement power.
I really hope it does something to help. We can't keep sliding like this much longer.
Can I get my stimulus monies in rare, full color, Obama coins?
@lpranal: Gosh, statements like that really make me feel like it's like February 17, 2001 all over again.
With an oink-oink here and an oink-oink there.
Here an oink, there an oink, everywhere an oink-oink!
I'm no Obama hater, but I have absolutely no faith in this bill whatsoever. It's filled with the usual pork spending on items like NASA space research while the Department of Veteran's Affairs is once again shafted. I mean honestly, who gives a fuck about the moon? I could see us spending this kind of money on exploration when, say, the economy wasn't tanking and people were losing their jobs left and right, but given the times I find it absolutely absurd.
So, what's the final word on the housing tax credit?
Be careful what you ask for... You might end up getting paid in shamwow's and snuggies.
@1stMarDiv: I have no faith in the bill either.
However, NASA space research means jobs. Jobs like mine.
@t-r0y: I hope that Republicans continue to stand on principle and refuse any stimulus and infrastructure money coming to their states and localities, don't sign up for unemployment or food stamps, and return any social security checks. It's the only responsible thing to do.
Can anyone name two respected economists who think this bill will improve the economy in any meaningful way?
@Plates: Why is it that giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans is "investing in the economy", but giving tax breaks to the lower income Americans who are struggling is "pork"?
It is very hard to prove a negative, can you prove the positive?
How about, when it did work?
If you want to talk about FDR and the New Deal, please remember he had a full blown war time economy to help out his policies. So, unless Obama's secret weapon is World War III, I am skeptical.
Doesn't mean I want him to fail, or I don't want this to work. It just means I am skeptical.
I see where you're coming from...I guess this is just me being frustrated as a veteran. It's no secret that every year when Congress is looking to make cuts one of the first places they look at is the VA. Hell, I was even told my disability rating would have been higher had it not been for the current economic climate. I was just discharged during a really crappy time, and now I only get 10% for an incredibly jacked up arm and shrapnel scars...awesome. To add on to this, some of the VA medical centers I've been to are in horrible condition, due to the same people in Congress who vow to "support the troops." I'm guessing their support consists of a yellow ribbon on their Escalades.
@1stMarDiv: The space industry is to Florida what the auto industry is to Michigan. That is, lots and lots of high tech, high paying jobs, with more jobs relying on those jobs, and then even more jobs relying on those jobs.
There are a lot of people down here who care about "the moon".
@everfade: Oh come on. In any other context this would be a perfectly valid assumption of meaning. Why is pointing it out here suddenly a racist thing to do
@hooooooot: I think the problem is that so much of this bill is dedicated to pet projects and cruft that will only incidentally create jobs, rather than to programs that directly create and stimulate them. For instance, education spending is proven to have huge direct benefits to the job market, yet they cut a huge chunk of that out of the bill for... what exactly?
It's a failure of all parts of our government that the bill passed in the form that it did. I may have voted for Obama but this whole thing is a huge blow to my expectations of him.
@Davan: When is that ever a perfectly valid assumption of meaning? The comment only points to the fact that you see him as black first and american second. I read "our" as to refer to americans, not just a color.
@sebadoh128: In some cases, we know what *not* to do. For instance (and not related to the stimulus package) implementing a policy now of protecting US products against competition from overseas imports would prove to be suicide, just like it doomed us to depression in the '40's.
In fact, the Fed is trying to NOT repeat mistakes they made during the great depression. Back then, they tightened the money supply, which drove us further into recession / depression. Now they are clearly being very loose with the money supply, much to the chagrin of many budget conservatives.
It's not all happy happy joy joy now, but it's also not entirely the doom and gloom people think it is.
Wall Street doesn't think so. Down 288 as I'm writing this. Ouch.