American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan

[WhiskeyGirl]

MASH Triage For the Economy

To get money moving again, Wood says more rescue and stimulus bills are needed. He says, "You just have to hold your nose at this point. This is a crisis. This is a Pearl Harbor for the global and the U.S. economy. You know some of this is battlefield surgery, right now. We're just trying to stop the bleeding."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, argues the Democratic stimulus package is wrongheaded, emphasizing government programs instead of jobs. He says, "This can either be a blip if we do it right, or it could be a deep recession if we do it wrong."

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5486274&autostart=y

I recall from somewhere that 'triage' may be practiced out of necessity during times of disaster and war...

Sometimes it isn't possible to stop ALL the bleeding and fix everyone, someone has to set priorities, make the tough decisions about life AND death.

mo

[WhiskeyGirl]

Other thoughts -

Obama's Stimulus Package Will Increase Unemployment

Tuesday, February 03, 2009
By John R. Lott, Jr.

President Obama and the Democrats’ “stimulus” package will increase the unemployment rate. The changes they propose will also make us poorer, with fewer, less productive jobs.

The most obvious explanation is the $36 billion in increased unemployment insurance benefits. Larger benefits at least for this year will encourage some people, who may be unhappy with their jobs, to be unemployed while they look for something better. Others will be a little more reluctant to take a new job when they are offered it. Unlike the rest of the “stimulus” package that is over two years, since the increased benefits are only planned for this year, the higher payments will increase unemployment this year and then start declining soon after the extension ends.

Yet, the “stimulus” package will do something else that will increase unemployment at least as much. Most of the new jobs will be for people who are currently employed. By moving money from places where it is currently being spent to places where the government wants it spent, you move the jobs also. But it takes time for people to move between jobs. That is called unemployment.

You might create jobs in California, but you will reduce the number of jobs in coal mines in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, or oil fields in Oklahoma and Texas. Where will those people who lose their jobs go? They aren’t going to instantly pack up their cars and move to California. They may not even have the right sets of skills for the new government-created jobs. Wherever it is these displace workers end up, it will take some time, and during that time those workers will be unemployed.

Most likely the jobs in the alternative energy industry will hire many employees away from industries that have nothing to do with coal or oil.

Of course, people see the jobs being created and they don’t see the jobs that disappear. They will probably thank the government for providing them jobs, even though the government is draining the businesses that they currently work for of the money that keeps them going.

Add to it Obama’s unjustifiable repeated comments about the “unprecedented” economic “crisis” and the panic he engenders, which cause even more changes in people’s behavior. And you guessed it – still more unemployment.

All this moving jobs around makes us poorer. People are subsidized into temporarily producing want isn’t really valued. But what do you expect from a program where dozens of political types are making decisions on where to spend almost a trillion dollars after only a few weeks of thought?

One thing is clear. The government will spend money in different ways than people otherwise would have spent it. And that means change, and change means temporary unemployment. Unfortunately, just as the government regulations that caused the financial crisis to begin with had people turning to government for more regulation, the turmoil and unemployment created by the government stimulus will cause even more to turn to the government for help.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487425,00.html

[WhiskeyGirl]

Small Business Owners Adjust to Economy

Palo Alto, Calif. (Feb. 4, 2009)
By WebCPA staff

(snip)

The survey, by payroll service PayCycle, found that 39 percent of the 478 small business owners surveyed in the past week said that they were “very worried” about the economy, compared to 56 percent in mid-October. However, 48 percent now say they are “somewhat worried” about the economy, compared to 35 percent in October.

When asked about President Obama’s stimulus package, 48 percent said that they are “not at all confident” that the package will address the needs of small business owners. Only 13 percent indicated that they are “very confident” about this.

(snip)

When asked about an economic recovery, 58 percent of survey respondents now believe that the recovery will take another 12 to 18 months, compared to 50 percent in the earlier survey

.

http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=30694

If small and medium sized businesses generate most of the new jobs, what's in the stimulus plan for them?  Business as usual with the pork?

[WhiskeyGirl]

Véron also sees threats to European integration: “For me, the big risk is of economic misery in central and eastern Europe. If you see a big divergence between that region and western Europe then it will be a big blow to the EU.” The political test is likely to be felt on both the national and the European level. Financial protectionism is leading to national support for other industries as European governments realise they have to be seen to help not just the banks. Even the free-market Nordics are getting in on the act, with Sweden putting together a rescue package for its car industry. Like many of the rescues across Europe, it is focused on national priorities, with loans and guarantees providing the money is spent in Sweden.

Similarly in France, the government is making carmakers promise not to transfer jobs or production outside France in return for €6bn of support. Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, believes judicious intervention by the state during a severe recession will help foster support for globalisation and forestall a downward protectionist spiral. That explains actions such as launching its own sovereign wealth fund, taking a stake in a shipyard and providing guarantees to customers of Airbus, the aircraft maker.

Italy’s approach of “managed globalisation” takes a similar tack and explains how it kept Alitalia, the lossmaking airline, in Italian hands but let Libya acquire 10 per cent of Eni, the state-controlled oil company. Germany, as the world’s largest exporter, has tried to avoid being seen as protectionist even if some of its moves to prop up banks and proposals for supporting industry have flirted with the idea.

Spain has taken a more unusual approach, with Miguel Sebastian, the powerful minister of industry, trade and tourism, urging Spaniards to buy more local products. “Right now there is something that our citizens can do for their country: bet on Spain, bet on our products, our industry and our services - bet, in short, on ourselves,” he said last month, in a call that was echoed in the UK by Sir Alan Sugar, the businessman. At a European level, there is concern over what all this means for countries’ commitment to the single market.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Business_News&subsection=market+news&month=February2009&file=Business_News2009020511548.xml

What ideas -

   Ensure that American bailout money is spent in America and benefits people in this country.

   Ensure that bailout recipients DO NOT transfer jobs out of the country.

   Ensure the U.S. follows a "managed globalization" path (probably won't bring jobs for Americans.)

   Ensure that the U.S. government bets on Americans, our products, our industry, our services, in short - our people, our future.

Why have a bailout if it doesn't create jobs for Americans?  Strengthen the American economy?  Make life better for Americans?

What's the point of passing any stimulus package?  High speed offshoring of jobs that could be done by Americans?