During the campaign in January of this year, Hilary Clinton proposed to jump-start the economy with a $70 billion stimulus plan and the possibility of $40 billion more.
Barack Obama said: "I'll see you, and raise you $10 billion" when he proposed a $75 billion plan with a possibility of $45 billion in reserves in his January 2008 stimulus plan to jump-start the economy.
President Bush thought even more amperage was needed and asked for $145 billion.
Congress, not to be outdone with other people's money, passed a $168 billion package which Bush signed February 13, 2008, with Rs and Ds looking on admiringly.
In October before the election, McCain vowed tax cuts to jump-start the economy and Obama proposed a $175 billion stimulus plan. The main difference in their approaches was where to clip the jumper cables.
Now President-elect Obama has appointed Paul Volcker, Federal Reserve chairman during the Carter and Reagan administrations, to head his economic advisory board (more change you can believe in). Obama is proposing yet another economic stimulus plan to "jump-start economic growth."
Would you be surprised that his latest plan has increased the stimulus amount?
From a 22 November NYT article:
"Mr. Obama’s proposal would go beyond the $175 billion stimulus plan he proposed in October ... Separately, Democratic leaders in Congress have been calling for a robust economic recovery initiative of up to $300 billion, including major investments in infrastructure to create jobs."
Deus ex machina anyone?
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1 comment:
Another fine blog entry that gets to the heart of the matter. By the time we're finished jump-starting the economic dead battery, we may need a new metaphor. How about defibrillating the economy--that is, if the dead body hasn't already been sent to the morgue?
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