Barack Obama has come up with a "stimulus package" that involves tax cuts for the middle class, and outright payments of $250 for lower and lower-middle class and retired people (with a possible extra $250 later). It also includes an expansion of unemployment insurance, which will really only encourage people to remain unemployed longer, and hurt the economy. You may be sure that liberals will complain that the government can't afford to give away "its" money, thus increasing the deficit, or some such nonsense. I'm really not sure how much "stimulus" this would give -- not that I would mind getting $250 of my own money back in the mail.
There is also a brilliant political strategy going on here. Hillary Clinton too has a "stimulus package," which we will get only if she's elected President. Obama is trying to get his done now. It makes him look like he actually does care about helping the economy. Heck, maybe he does. That's good news, because that means that he should be able to be persuaded by economic arguments. Some free market people should get right on this and start trying to change his economic world view. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a Democrat whose economics is founded in the real world for a change?
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