Organizing for America | Thom Myers' Blog: Economic stimulus is all about creating jobs

Economic stimulus is all about creating jobs

By Thom Myers - ObamaZoo - Feb 21st, 2009 at 7:15 pm EST

Also listed in: 10 groups

Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content

My biggest problem with the $760+ billion economic stimulus package is not highway construction or any of the other spending. It's the tax cuts. Those of us who qualify for the personal tax cuts will net about $5 a week. How many houses and cars are you planning to buy with your extra $5?

Cutting taxes for low- and middle-income families was an important promise of the Obama campaign, which was supposed to be offset with tax increases for the wealthiest 2 percent. The latter did not happen, because 100 percent of Republicans and 90 percent of Democrats were not going to support a tax increase on anyone for anything. So, we added to the deficit and the bills our grandchildren will pay with no offsets.

If you proposed a tax increase on the sale of heroine or child pornography, the Republicans would oppose it. It's not because Republicans support the sale of heroine or child pornography--don't be ridiculous--they just ridiculously oppose increasing taxes regardless of how fair or fiscally and socially responsible a tax increase might be.

An extra $5 or $10 a week is not going to restore consumer confidence, change spending patterns or stimulate the economy. It's not that giving working families a break is a bad thing. It's just not going to stimulate the economy.

There are only three things that will stimulate the economy and shorten the recession: jobs, jobs and jobs.

Creating jobs in areas that provide long-term savings and benefits, such as renewable energy, are obviously better than those that provide short-term employment and don't provide the same future savings--like construction on I-94 in Kalamazoo. But, we need jobs now--right now--and I-94 is ready to go.

Creating jobs and providing Americans with confidence in their job security will restore consumer confidence. Giving Americans an extra $5 a week in tax cuts will not. The $600 stimulus checks for shopping with G.W. Bush & Co. produced a momentary increase of less than 1 percent economic growth.

We may not be able to spend our way out of this recession, but tax cuts only dig us deeper into the same hole we dug for eight years under George W. Bush.

Reader Comments	Comments RSS
Comments are closed for this post.

No comments have been written yet.

Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.