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Newspaper Roundup for Jan. 6, 2009
CNSNews.com Headlines —
... Rising premiums threaten to doom state s experiment with universal insurance Washington Post: Obama Pitches Stimulus Plan to Skeptical GOP Leaders Washington Post/AP: ...
Obama's leap of faith
Political Animal —
... in Hoover's economic policies -- it also comes with considerable risk. For the last 15 years or so, Democratic efforts to work with Republicans in good faith have been routinely punished. Obama's instincts have a strong track record, but any discussion premised on the notion that congressional Republicans are credible negotiators who take policy seriously is inherently suspect. Indeed, even yesterday, Obama's efforts notwithstanding, GOP leaders, despite having very little leverage, complained the incoming administration wants to spend too much and cut taxes too little. I ...
Stimulation
Swampland —
... The talk this morning is all about the tax cuts included in Barack Obama's stimulus package, which is understandable, but also a bit misleading. Some of my colleagues are acting as if the $1000 tax break for families with incomes under $200,000 is some sort of surprise or shocker--interesting, since Obama promised it in every single speech during the campaign. He also mentioned tax credits for businesses that add jobs in just about every speech, although this is a more complicated idea--do companies that have laid off workers get credit for rehiring them? ...
Stimulus
The Reaction —
... he will make. The tax cuts announced were expected (and Democrat friendly). If anything, $300 billion in tax cuts as 40% of the total package may mean that the spending part of Obama's stimulus will be even bigger than expected. Maybe even hitting the trillion mark. Obama's playing politics and stroking egos right now. I don't think he's a Charlie Brown in waiting. His election campaign showed us as much. ...
Okay, GOP Leaders, It’s Game Time
The Sundries Shack —
President-Elect Obama is ready to drop the Powerball of Pork he’s calling a stimulus package onto Congress for passage, but first, he has to try to woo Republicans to his side or it won’t pass. First, let me stipulate that no matter how big the stimulus package is, it won’t work. It didn’t work when FDR did it and he can’t miracle his way around the laws of economics to make it work now. That said, he’s sure as heck going to try because his goal isn’t really economic stimulus but government control of the economy. It doesn’t matter if he creates more jobs because that’s never been his goal. How do I know? He said so . It’s going to take bold ...
More stimulus
The Reaction —
By Creature Just as Obama's stroking egos right now, Republicans are posturing. They need to seem relevant and they have yet to figure out how irrelevant they actually are. That being said, with their posturing taking the form of slowing the stimulus package down (and their sudden discovery of fiscal responsibility) it's hard not to think that they still don't get it. Action is needed to save the economy and that action is now urgent because they sat on their hands for years by refusing to spend or obstructing it. America is in trouble and the GOP better get out of the way or we are all ...
Time for the GOP to Get Out of the Way
RedState: Conservative News and Community —
With yesterday’s announcement from the Congressional Budget Office that the fiscal year 2009 federal budget deficit is projected to be $1.2 trillion dollars, Republicans in the House and Senate should realize that the time has come for them to pull their support for any economic stimulus package proposed by the incoming Obama Administration. The CBO’s budget numbers don’t include the as yet unseen stimulus bill, which is rumored to carry a price tag of anywhere between $600 billion and $1.2 trillion on its own. By this time next year, the government could be carrying a balance sheet that is as much as $2.5 trillion in the red. As the once and future party of fiscal ...
