GOP senators draft stimulus alternative

[OnePimpTiger]

GOP senators draft stimulus alternative

A group of Republican senators drafted an alternative stimulus measure that narrows government spending to infrastructure programs and helping unemployed Americans, addresses the housing crisis and relies mostly on tax cuts.

The $713 billion plan was put together by Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, who has been working with a handful of other GOP senators.

The proposal includes $430 billion in tax cuts, $114 billion for infrastructure projects, $138 billion for extending unemployment insurance, food stamps and other provisions to help those in need and $31 billion to address the housing crisis...

...Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans appear to want to limit the stimulus to tax cuts and addressing the housing crisis.

But the draft is more narrow than the Democrats plan because it eliminates spending on government programs that Republicans and some Democrats say shouldn't be in the bill because they don't create jobs.

Senate Democrats have agreed to take out provisions of the Dem stimulus package for Anti-Smoking Programs and AIDS/STD Prevention Programs, but the proposed GOP bill cuts out a lot more of the spending issues that would not help the economy in any way. The Dem package is a model of pork barrell spending and pet projects...trying to put in funding for Anti-Smoking and AIDS/STD Prevention in an economic stimulus bill? How does that stimulate the economy? I know that's how business is conducted on the Hill, on both sides of the aisle, but this is not the time to be plugging special interests.


I also just noticed this poll on CNN.com's front page:

Should the economic stimulus bill contain items not directly related to strengthening the economy or creating jobs?
Yes 10% 16235
No 90% 148557
Total Votes: 164792

And I'll add that CNN.com's polls usually reflect at least a small liberal bias.


Anybody want to defend the Congressional Democrats and Obama putting this stuff in the stimulus bill?

[tikitomoka]

none of that stuff stimulates the economy, they just know that they might be able to slip it in and get it passed imo

[duwal]

sounds like it would just help the unemployed be content with staying unemployed


duwal

[daniel3417]

sounds like it would just help the unemployed be content with staying unemployed


duwal

Giving them $0.00 would be the most motivational thing.

[jvansande]

Sounds like a good plan, without so many tax cuts. I hate paying higher taxes, but we need to get the economy back on track.

[OnePimpTiger]

Sounds like a good plan, without so many tax cuts. I hate paying higher taxes, but we need to get the economy back on track.

That's what a lot of people don't understand, tax cuts are one of the best things to help get the economy back on track. The economy relies on people buying things and tax cuts puts more money in the citizens' pockets to do just that. When people spend money, more money is circulating in the economy, more products have to be made, more people have jobs as a result, etc, etc, etc. Paying taxes helps the government, not the economy. And most of the time, the government does the economy more harm than good. The best thing that could be done for the economy right now would be to cut taxes to the bare minimum to keep the government running and give consumers that much more money to spend and put back in the economy.

[jvansande]

That's what a lot of people don't understand, tax cuts are one of the best things to help get the economy back on track. The economy relies on people buying things and tax cuts puts more money in the citizens' pockets to do just that. When people spend money, more money is circulating in the economy, more products have to be made, more people have jobs as a result, etc, etc, etc. Paying taxes helps the government, not the economy. And most of the time, the government does the economy more harm than good. The best thing that could be done for the economy right now would be to cut taxes to the bare minimum to keep the government running and give consumers that much more money to spend and put back in the economy.

I understand your logic and am conserative, but where is the money going to come from to fund this stimulus package? If the govt prints more money than the value of the dollor goes down and products will cost more. Explain this to me?

[angel0430]

I don't want that stuff on a stimulus plan.Why don't we put that money into peopleas mortgages, car loans and all that stuff. Everyone in the uS would get money when not everyone needs it.

[OnePimpTiger]

I understand your logic and am conserative, but where is the money going to come from to fund this stimulus package? If the govt prints more money than the value of the dollor goes down and products will cost more. Explain this to me?

I don't want this stimulus package...pretty simple. You're right, the government can't spend billions of dollars while at the same time drastically cutting taxes, but I would prefer no stimulus package and more money in the consumers hands. Taxes going to the government have to filter through the bureaucracy and pay for the government itself before it can be spent. Plus a lot of the stimulus package isn't even going to help the economy. So only a percentage of the tax money needed to cover the stimulus will actually make it to the economy, and who knows if it will even work. If that money was left in the hands of the consumers, it would be spent and most of it would go directly into the economy. That sounds like a much more efficient plan to me.

[daniel3417]

I think future "tax cuts" should be literal cuts made to the percentage of income tax collected. None of this refund bull.