A Steal at Only $789 Billion

Reuters brings word that the House and Senate have settled on a measly $789 billion to rock our economy like a hurricaine:

U.S. lawmakers reached a compromise deal on Wednesday on a $789 billion package of tax cuts and spending to rescue the ailing economy and votes could begin as early as Thursday, meeting President Barack Obama's goal.

Harry Reid, leader of the majority Democrats in the Senate, said some 3.5 million jobs would be created under the package and that more than one-third of it would be dedicated to tax cuts and incentives for middle-class Americans.

He did not reveal specific details of the compromise, which pulled together separate stimulus bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives.

Earlier today, Reason.com asked leading economists to sound off on the Senate stimulus plan. And yesterday, Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy offered 800 billion reasons to worry about the stimulus package.  

Comments

[TallDave]

Hmmm. Still an atrocity, but I'm amazed it stayed under a trillion.

Kudos to Republicans.

[Xeones]

FUCK

[Pro Libertate]

Three-and-a-half million new jobs? How many in the private sector? Thirty-five?

[TallDave]

Pro,

Well, it's actually 503.5 million jobs, when you count the ones we saved this month by passing it.

[ShortJeff]

"Earlier today, Reason.com asked leading economists to sound off on the Senate stimulus plan."

I know Reason's opposed to the stimulus, but it's not clear to me that this was exactly a random sample. There are plenty of economists who on balance like the stimulus, and yet not one of those quoted here was remotely in favor.

Seems like red meat for the faithful. I'm a little concerned about confirmation bias...

[HammeredHead]

3.5 million, is that all. Th original number that I heard was something like 500 million new jobs per month. Guess i souldn't trust Pelosi.

[John]

Three and a half million jobs for a mere $789 billion dollars. That is about $225,000 per job give or take. Government efficiency. Part of me feels like I have been raped. But part of me also feels like fuck it. We live in a Democracy and a majority of the American people bent over and told President McHopey to do his worst. Hard to blame the guy for taking advantage of it.

[twistedmerkin]

Well, Obama did campaign on change. And $789 billion dollars is, like, 789 trillion pennies. That's a lot of change!

[John]

http://www.usajobs.gov/

I guess that site is going to get a lot busier.

[spambot]

The tyranny of democracy is that Paul can take Peter's money and freedoms away as long as he can get 51% of the public to go along.

Not saying there is a better system but there it is.

[Ben]

So you're telling me that for the low, low price of 789 billion dollars I can get 3.5 million jobs, many of which will be worthless government jobs, and we can doom me and my future children and grandchildren to obscenely high taxes and an America that will be a shadow of its former self? Sign me up!

[TallDave]

You'd think with all that spending, they could have spared something for a promising fusion project which might actually be useful.

[John]

If the American people take this and don't vote every joe and josephine or voted for it out of office, they are not worthy of their freedoms.

[Curious George]

Wow think of ACORN employing an additional 3.5 million people. What a bargain.

All hail the Supreme Leader, Hussein is the glory of Allah.

[The effective way to block it]

Earlier today, Reason.com asked leading economists to sound off on the Senate stimulus plan. And yesterday, Mercatus Center economist Veronique de Rugy offered 800 billion reasons to worry about the stimulus package.

Wow! You did your best. Almost like Fred Smythe. He's the valiant, brave, American hero who, when Revere was raising the alarm, sat in the alehouse muttering about how bad the British were.

Some take decisive action. Reason is not one of those.

[R C Dean]

So you're telling me that for the low, low price of 789 billion dollars I can get 3.5 million jobs, many of which will be worthless government jobs,

See, they are lying to us about the $789 billion, because of those government jobs and programs. Those jobs and programs will be paid for by taxpayers forever, and the discounted future cost should be included in the tab for this bill.

So, don't believe their lies. This is a trillion dollar bill.

[John]

"But Obama does not have much high ground. The "stimulus" bill alone will create more debt (approximately $1 trillion including interest costs), than Bush's first three years of budget deficits combined ($948 billion). And adding the "stimulus" bill to a realistic budget baseline yields a projected 2010-2017 cumulative budget deficit of $8.4 trillion. - 2.5 times the size of President Bush's deficits over the same 8-year time period."

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/02/11/president-obama-set-to-exceed-president-bush%E2%80%99s-deficits/#more-2567

Bush was an amateur. We are about to find out what a professional racketeer and gangster like Obama can do given enough power. It is as if Tony Soprano were elected to run the country.

[Jerry]

Conservative morons --- can't even multiply $789 billion by 100. Your calculations of cost per job are screwed up. Much of the bill is for tax cuts (AMT) that have nothing to do with job creation. Also, a lot of the money is just going to relieve suffering of workers thrown out of their jobs by conservative economic policies.

[economist]

Jerry,
1. This isn't a conservative site.
2. The stimulus was pushed by Democrats as a way to create jobs.
3. "thrown out of their jobs by conservative economic policies": Wtf does that even mean?
4. I knew it's 78.9 trillion. One person screwed up the calculation, and you're just being a dick by generalizing it to everyone here.
5. It's really sort of a moot point whether it's 78.9 trillion or 789 trillion pennies, isn't it?

[Jerry-bot]

economist,
Shut up, yu ritewingg moran!

[jeff]

I am not sure how much this stimulus bill can help. In any case, I just came across a very helpful website on the current economic downturn and employment: http://www.recessioninfocenter.com

[Libertarian]

I knew that if Washington politicians got together and worked really, really hard under the leadership of Reid and Pelosi, they could manage to craft a massive spending bill for the good of the country!

[Paul]

Greaaaat. Now this will be the reason why the whole thing failed. It all would have worked so well if it hadn't have been for those meddling moderate Republicans*

*who have lost all credibility on issues regarding fiscal restraint.

[Paul]

Part of me feels like I have been raped.

That's called "stimulus" John. Get with the program.

[Stop Smoking Hypnosis]

Hoping that this one will make more sense and will be more transparent than that first one.

[economist]

"Part of me feels like I have been raped."

Well, as joe said some months back (really), you might as well lie back and try to enjoy it.

[CharlesWT]

Current WikipediA article and its Google cache version.

[LarryA]

About fifty years ago I learned that when a salesman tells you that you have to buy something today or miss the bargain, it's time to run away.

Guess that's still valid advice.

[Curious George]

I think stimulus is a new term for an unknown quantity that will grow without regard to normal laws of physics until ones head implodes.

Given Leftwingnut imperatives they will feed this number till we are all engulfed by it and destroyed by the sheer weight of pork in it.

Leaving one to ask is this really a math or biology?

[jim]

"rock our economy like a hurricaine:..."

Is a hurricaine better or worse than a hurricane?