The media coverage of this, abetted by GOP distortions, has been stupid and awful; perhaps that is the fate of every big Dem initiative. Since the package didn't get but one GOP vote, except in the House where it didn't matter, it would have been better to stick to a better package, instead of one pitched to deaf ears (meaning drop the AMT fix, the tax cuts, target the money better). Especially at the beginning, the WH was in more of a position to bring senators into line behind a bigger, better plan. Part of the problem -- another sort of ideological defensiveness -- was too much sensitivity to yammering about deficits, including within the economic geniuses in the Administration.
On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 3:16 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Jan 25, 2010, at 3:06 PM, James Heartfield wrote:
>
>> If the government spending in the US is anything like spending in the UK,
>> then the subject heads under which the spending is listed will offer little
>> insight into how the money was actually spent.
>
> They actually disclose quite a bit at Recovery.gov.
>
> I am normally not a fan of Joe Klein, but he's right in the following:
>
> <http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/01/25/too-dumb-to-thrive/>
>
> Too Dumb to Thrive
> Posted by JOE KLEIN Monday, January 25, 2010 at 11:30 am
>
> Absolutely amazing poll results from CNN today about the $787 stimulus
> package: nearly three out of four Americans think the money has been wasted.
> On second thought, they may be right: it's been wasted on them. Indeed, the
> largest single item in the package--$288 billion--is tax relief for 95% of
> the American public. This money is that magical $60 to $80 per month you've
> been finding in your paycheck since last spring. Not a life changing amount,
> but helpful in paying the bills.
>
> The next highest amount was $275 billion in grants and loans to states. This
> is why your child's teacher wasn't laid off...and why the fire station has
> remained open, and why you're not paying even higher state and local taxes
> to close the local budget hole.
>
> It turns out that what people are really upset about is all that wasteful
> money that has gone to political public works projects...except that the
> overwhelming portion of that money hasn't been spent yet. Remember all those
> "shovel-ready" projects? Well, they didn't exist. The big jobs-creating
> projects like the rebuilt "smart" electric grid, major highways and fast
> trains will come on line during the next year. (Although these projects
> might have gotten greater public support if they'd been chosen by a National
> Infrastructure Bank--a panel of experts, like the fed--that would have
> picked them according to their value added, rather than by the bozo
> appropriators in the Congress.)
>
> So, two thoughts:
>
> 1. The Obama Administration has done a terrible job explaining the stimulus
> package to the American people...especially since there have been very few
> documented cases of waste so far.
>
> 2. This is yet further evidence that Americans are flagrantly
> ill-informed...and, for those watching Fox News, misinformed.
>
> It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible
> to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic
> activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an
> increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of dodos.
>
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