Senate Approves Stimulus Plan for Squanderers

Great news for the US! The government is going to save and create a combined 4 million jobs through its new stimulus plan. Our economy can undoubtedly benefit from this influx of job opportunities, seeing as how unemployment rates are reaching startling highs. And with the government’s smart spending habits, these 4 million jobs can be guaranteed for the low price of $838 billion!

I’m no expert, but this does not seem to be a good deal for taxpayers. While I acknowledge that the US is in dire need of some economic stimulation, how can the government continue to generate imprudent spending packages? As a country we are already steeped in incredible debt, with the government having incurred nearly $11 trillion in debt as of 2/10/09, about 5.5 times greater than our GDP. Dividing the public debt among all US citizens, each citizen shares in approximately $35,000 of the government’s debt. As a country, we are already facing nearly $3 trillion in personal, consumer debt. It would be irresponsible of the government to continue spending existing and imaginary tax dollars even in a burgeoning economy. But during an economic recession, when an increasing number of taxpayers are finding themselves unemployed and are reducing their spending, there is no excuse for uneconomical and unreasonable spending.

I appreciate that Obama and his administration speak of ensuring full government disclosure and bringing an end to business as usual. But business is as usual on Capitol Hill. We are all witnessing Congress’ continued pork barrel spending and deficient decision-making. How can the Senate justify its actions?

Is the government really blind to their errors? Do they not recognize that with the auto bailout, for example, they virtually threw away $17.4 billion? The government could have allocated that money to fund low interest loans for people looking to finance the purchase of a Ford, GM, or Chevrolet. These low interest loans would have encouraged the purchase of US cars and would have helped the US auto industry generate a positive cash flow. Instead, potential buyers are still unable to finance the purchase of vehicles; US auto manufacturers continue to experience a negative cash flow, and taxpayers owe another $17.4 billion.

Spending money does not solve anything. Spending wisely however, can help stabilize the economy. Too bad no one on the hill seems to be sensible enough to recognize the value of smart spending.