So stimulating
Call me a skeptic. Call me a doubter. But, don’t call me late for dinner.
The “stimulus” plan approved by the senate today and endorsed by President Obama has probably meant a spike in paper production because it’s well over a thousand pages long. So, there’s one industry that might see a benefit. Hint: Please use office printer if you wish to have your own copy.
The one zillion dollar plan was roundly booed by Wall Street today, but what do they know? No, really…
There’s money for “shovel ready” projects, improving the energy efficiency of federal buildings and infrastructure rehab. There’s money for golf carts, TV converter boxes and uniforms for the TSA. That’s where I started to wonder.
I was also puzzled by the presidential visit to the RV manufacturing hub in Indiana prior to the press conference, then the fierce urgency to insulate federal buildings message delivered later that day, with puzzling remarks on how that would curb our need for oil. Think about it. Rinse. Repeat. Then, take an aspirin. Bet those meds are a hot commodity for people who are doing a lot of thinking these days.
The stimulus plan reminds me a little of the stimulus mom. The stimulus mom, already strapped to the max with six little ones, decides the answer to her need for love is to have eight more little ones. Those babies are darn cute, but their long term cost just might stretch into the billions. What starts out as a good idea quickly becomes a long term, cumbersome project that one person alone really can’t handle.
The stimulus package is an escalation of the spending arms race in an effort to force a conclusion that no economist can predict with any certainty. Economists seem to have a lot in common with TV meteorologists: Everyone loves them when things are sunny. When there’s a big, fat gloomy mess, we look to them for answers and sometimes, they simply don’t know the answer as to when the weather will break. Or, when the bank will break.
I watched with wonder today with some of my colleagues as the senate gave this thing its blessing with the assistance of Benedict Specter of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When interviewed later about a provision regarding the federalization of medical records, our esteemed senator said he didn’t know too much about that part, but he seemed a little worried. I believe the Republican party of Pennsylvania will feel stimulated enough next year to find a legitimate candidate who won’t stab them in the eye when the chips are down. I’ve never had a warm, fuzzy feeling for Sen. Specter and now I know why. But, then again, how many people really read this thing? Something tells me it would be a very small show of hands from the class.
Corbett
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