"I mean it's wasting a tremendous amount of money," he said in an interview with the Atlantic. "I don't think it will expand the economy. . . . I think it's garbage."
Rep. Tom Cole, Republican from Oklahoma, was a bit more refined but no less biting in his commentary. Borrowing from Winston Churchill, he wryly observed from the House floor Thursday morning that "Never have so few spent so much so quickly to do so little."
Lest anyone think that Barro or Cole is guilty of overstating the situation, consider what's in this monster:
• It overflows with pork — $ 2 billion to ACORN, an anti-capitalist "community" group that's been accused of voter registration fraud; $ 30 million to restore wetlands and save the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse in the San Francisco Bay Area (a Nancy Pelosi project); another $ 1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund for education programs on sexually transmitted diseases.
Tens of billions will be spent on high-speed rail lines, which will be of little practical use but of great political service, and projects to expand high-speed Internet access in rural areas.
There's so much special-interest spending in the bill, says House Republican Leader Rep. John Boehner's office, that the dollars left over for direct small-business tax relief amount to only "about one-third of 1% of the total bill," a mere $ 3 billion out of a $ 789 billion package. Yet small businesses do most of the hiring in this country.
• The bulk of the spending comes not right away when the economy needs a boost, but in future years. This is typical. Legislative attempts to rescue the economy have been late in the last eight recessions going back to October 1949, when Congress passed an anti-recession bill just as the country was emerging from a 12-month downturn.
• By releasing $ 800 billion in new welfare spending over the next decade and undermining current work requirements, it will largely undo the successful 1996 welfare reform. Once again, Washington will be paying bonuses to states that expand their welfare rolls. In what world is increasing dependency on government a stimulus for the private economy?
http://www.ibdeditorial.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=319334273223204
• States that have spent recklessly for years will get bailouts when they should instead suffer the consequences of their actions. The compromise bill includes $ 54 billion to hand out to state and local governments, a perverse reward for elected officials who can't control their spending.
What's missing from the legislation is just as significant as what's included.
There are no tax cuts to boost investment, just a trifling $ 13 in tax relief per week that will appear on paychecks in the spring.
There's no real effort to boost energy production.
There's no meaningful defense spending.
Tax cuts initiated at the White House gave life to struggling economies in the 1960s, 1980s and earlier in this decade.
63vette
I think so.
easy24q
Is that the same professor that said Bush's 2 trillion dollars worth of tax cuts didn't work so it time to try actual stimulus?
pompanopete0
Its the one thing Obama does well;
spend OPM!
[Other Peoples Money]
The Skammunist
I'm sure he thinks he is. A Nobel Prize winning economist who feels this bill isn't big enough also believes he is right. I'm not conceited enough to argue with either of them...we'll see what happens.
j j
Wow yet another Taliban radical on the scene. You Republicans will regret what your doing to America. Voters will make sure of that!!
Orignal From: IS A TOP HARVARD ECONOMIST RIGHT WHEN HE CALLS the Obama Plan AGGREGIOUS WASTE?
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