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U.S. governors seek $1 trillion federal assistance
Governors of five U.S. states urged the federal government to provide $1 trillion in aid to the country's 50 states to help pay for education, welfare and infrastructure as states struggle with steep budget deficits amid a deepening recession.
...Gov. David Paterson of New York said 43 states now have budget deficits totaling some $100 billion as tax revenues plunge.
So naturally, they want ten times that amount. Belt-tightening? What's that?
The latest package calls for $350 billion to create jobs by building or repairing roads, bridges and other public works; $250 billion to maintain education; and another $250 billion in "counter-cyclical" spending such as extending unemployment benefits and food stamps, which are typically a responsibility of the states.
The remainder would be used to fund middle-class tax cuts, stimulate the embattled housing market, and stem the tide of home foreclosures through a loan-modification program.
And a partridge in a pear tree...what you shouldn't expect to see is any government employees taking pay cuts or losing their jobs, or any attempt to rein back government expenditures. That stuff is so private sector. But not all is doom and gloom...if the NYT is right, you too can cash in! Of course, you have to be a member of the Connected Club first.
With $700 billion in bailout money up for grabs, and billions of dollars worth of bad debt or failed bank assets most likely headed for sale or auction, these former officials are helping their clients get a piece of the bailout money or the chance to buy, at fire-sale prices, some of the bank assets taken over by the federal government.
Is this the HopeChange® you were looking for?
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Stimulate me
"I am optimistic that if we come together to seek solutions that advance not the interests of any party, or the agenda of any one group, but the aspirations of all Americans, then we will meet the challenges of our time just as previous generations have met the challenges of theirs," Obama said
Great pic Tully
Thank you NYT
With a little selective
With a little selective editing, there's a Nast cartoon for everything...plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!
I think Reid's conversation
I think Reid's conversation with Blago was on tape...
Yes, the more it changes, the more it's the same thing
Did I miss a meeting?
When Bernake, Paulson, and W were pushing for 750 billion, all heck broke loose.
When O and the Dem congress are pushing for 850 billion, it's heaven on earth.
We are in debt. Could someone answer how this makes sense?
PS. A while back I was recommending a book called Lincoln Reconsidered. The author is David Herbert Donald not David P. Davis. i'm re-reading it (well, parts of it) now :)
surely you wouldn't suggest
Surely you wouldn't suggest that the government will be unable to indefinitely sustain the nouvelle practice of spending, oh, 4 dollars for every 3 it collects? Oh and sorry for calling you Shirley, :-)
Start in 2008 with 2.66 trillion collected and 2.9 trillion + 0.7 trillion bailout spent. Then make a guesstimate about the 2009 budget when you spend a comparable pre-bailout amount plus a giant 0.75 trillion stimulus. C'mon now, the only person who would worry about inflation and a dangerously devalued dollar under such circumstance is, well, just a turd in the inauguration punchbowl, Tully. Me and you, splashin' round, ruinin' the party. The connecticut yankee and the skunk at the garden party. :-)
Seriously though, while I expect that a giant 2009 stimulus package is a foregone conclusion, my money is on Obama coming close to giving the bum's rush to the individual beggar's parade that has been gaining steam since October. I expect Obama really has little choice but to give the old stern belt-tightening speech at some point.
There comes a point when the scope of deficit spending becomes way too vast to be sustainable beyond a one-or two-time hail mary. When you collect 2.6 and spend 3.6, that just can't last very long at all. A few percent is one thing, but a thirdish?
At bare minimum, I think any direct aid to state has to take the form of being keyed to state budget reductions. Maybe you, say, promise a dollar of federal aid per 3 or 4 dollars of cuts or something. Or 10, or 20. I dunno.
Do you think Obama is going to rubber-stamp giant handouts to select states along the lines that this beggar bunch has come shopping for? I hope not, and I really don't think he will. I don't think he can. Shirley, you hope I'm right about that, dontcha?
Obama giving the bum's rush
Obama giving the bum's rush to the beggars at the gate would cheer me right up. But they wouldn't be asking if they didn't think it was at least partially possible.
oh for sure
Now that the banks and the auto makers have gotten theirs, everyone is thinking "no harm in asking." I agree that the "big blue state" line-up seen here is especially troublesome for how it smacks of the same old spoils system. Inevitably, there will always be some of that, I think.
A giant and overt handout constrained only to this group would be politically inept. So my guess is that any aid these particular states get will be part of some "help every state" effort. Not saying favorites won't be played to some extent of course, they always are.
I really like the idea of attempting to frame fed aid to the states in terms of "show us you are serious about controlling your costs, and the feds will try to help." Not that I necessarily like the idea of any bailout, per se. But I like least any bailout that shelters any struggling group from making necessary hard choices.
There just aren't enough ponies to go round, as it turns out. :-)