Liberals: Please Listen!

The liberal viewpoint is that Republicans are acting as if this $890 billion Stimulus Bill won't create jobs; and, that's why they're blocking it. But, the liberals aren't listening. I think everyone will agree that this spending bill will create some new jobs. However, the general Republican viewpoint is that it is more likely to give work to construction workers who already have jobs or to those in that same industry who have been recently furloughed. It actually does nothing outside of the construction industry to get people back to work.

The real issue is whether or not this massive amount of spending will cause the "general population" of this country, those who already have jobs, to start spending money so that new and additional jobs can be created in the process. The government doesn't create economic growth. Economic growth is accomplished through the collective spending activity of a "whole population" which spurs on the entire economy.

To put this into perspective, 50 workers in a city with a population of 250,000, or a million, or 2 million people, who are working on rehabbing a school building under this new stimulus program, aren't going to have enough impact on the local economy to do twiddly. Do we really think that 50 extra cups of morning coffee, being purchased by these workers, in what is probably a 10 or 20-mile radius from their job site, will cause the local Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts to hire a few more people? Hell no! But, if 10 or 20 percent of the population in that same 10 or 20-mile radius all decide to start buying a cup of morning coffee, jobs will be created.

The trick of any stimulus package is to get the "general" population to buy stuff. It should make them want to buy that extra cup of morning coffee, or newspaper, or a breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or a TV set, or whatever. Stimulus doesn't simply mean handing out a few jobs under some very specific government contracts. That's why this whole Stimulus Package is so misplaced.

For our economy to start growing again, the majority of our population has to feel good enough to spend their hard earned money and stop protecting it in fear for their jobs. The cheapest and simplest way to get the general population to start freeing up a few dollars is to stop telling them that we are on the brink of disaster. Something that our new President can't stop from saying on a daily basis. This scares the hell out of people. As a result, the general population is frightened and is only going to spend money on essentials. They're not going to risk their savings to buy a new house or car if they feel their jobs will be gone in the not too distant future.

Under this stimulus package, you and I will get a $650 tax break. That's basically a couple of bucks a day. That amount of money could barely buy you a cup of coffee in the morning; and hardly the newspaper to go along with it. Certainly, after buying that single cup of coffee, there will be little money left over for anything else.

So, liberals, please listen. Objecting to this stimulus package isn't being an obstructionist. It is simply being concerned about getting this country back on its feet. It is a different viewpoint. If Republicans are being obstructionists, then too, are hundreds of eminent economists who are also raising red flags about this package. This thing was slam-dunked by one political side of our Congress without any Congressional debate or national discussion. To my knowledge, there were no economists in attendance while it was being crafted. What we got was a litany of social programs from a bunch of lawyers turned politicians. Most of which, in public life, never created a single job. So, if protecting our country is being an obstructionist, then I guess the Republicans should proudly wear that label!