Obama Stimulus Package Passed by House
Bill Had No Republican Support
One flaw in the Obama stimulus package appears to be the fact that it provides money for illegal aliens, according to the International Herald Tribune:
"The legislation, which would send tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple, expressly disqualifies nonresident aliens, but it would allow people who don't have Social Security numbers to be eligible for the checks.
"Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits."
The Washington Post reports that the Obama stimulus package contains a "buy American" provision, barring foreign iron and steel from infrastructure projects. Some suggest the provision is similar in effect to the infamous Smoot Haley bill that started a trade war that in turn turned a severe recession into the decade long Great Depression of the 1930s.
The Wall Street Journal has already pointed out some of the dubious provisions of the Obama stimulus package that, strictly speaking, have more to do that liberal Democratic spending wishes than economic stimulus:
"There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons."
The Wall Street Journal suggests that only ninety billion of the eight hundred plus billion dollar Obama stimulus package could, strictly speaking, be called stimulative. The rest is either pork, projects that have a low or negative return on investments, or transfer payments from one group of tax payers to another.
One might conclude, knowing what is in the Obama stimulus package, that it is little wonder that President Obama and the Democrats want to pass it as soon as possible. It is not the fact that the economy would collapse if the stimulus package is not passed quickly. It is suspected that the stimulus package itself might collapse if it is not passed quickly, as otherwise more and more people will learn what is in it and will oppose it. And that would be a disaster for President Obama and the Democrats. The health of the economy pales in comparison, from their perspective, to their political fortunes.
Sources: House Passes $819B Stimulus Package, Fox News, January 28th, 2009
Hill Republican: Stimulus aids illegal immigrants, International Herald Tribune, January 29th, 2009
'Buy American' Rider Sparks Trade Debate, Anthony Faiola, Washington Post, January 29th, 2009
A 40-Year Wish List, Wall Street Journal, January 28th, 2009
Published by Mark Whittington
Mark R. Whittington is a writer residing in Houston, Texas. He is the author of The Last Moonwalker, Children of Apollo, Dark Sanction, and Nocturne. He has written numerous articles, some for the Washington... View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentThe thing that is making me mad George Bush started this down slide. Nobody will talk about that. What did he do to make this country safe? Killing Sadaam didnt make this country safe because our people here are not being killed at mass rates insurgents. They are being killed in Iraq. Let Iraq fight their own battle. I think George Bush did this on purpose. Being a good sport? Hmmm Lets see George Bush lied about the war. He never went to Louisiana to help those people there. He wanted to give tax breaks to the rich and said to hell with the poor. That is not being a good sport. Who cares what color Mr. Obama really is. The fact is he is going to do what George should have done. If Mr. Obama was a white democrat and won I would still appreciate him more than that last so called president we had. I dont get how people cant see that this country is really messed up and needs to be fixed. It shouldnt matter what color he is. It should be about getting this country where it needs to be.
The government should have sent every single person $10,000 and every family $20,000 instead of wasting the money sending it to the banks. They did absolutely nothing to help folks loosing their homes, no one even knows what they did do with the money, it's a crying shame. If the American people would have been sent the money the economy would have been stimulated, their debt lowered and money put back into the system. Leave it to the government to allow illegal immigrants to qualify for tax benefits even without a social security number and let the sinking middle class sink further. I am so dissappointed in the stimulas package and Obama. At my age, I sure can not qualify for a job building a road or a bridge, so with all the money I still will not get help. My nerves are shot from worry about how I'm going to pay my bills after loosing my job. I need money, not tax credits! Even the credits are so low, it will not impact my situation or anyone elses situation one bit. No wonder the R
i'm really getting fed up with all of the "historical black president" propaganda. obama is half black and half white. his black father left him and his white mother raisedhim until he was put with his white grandparents. he was never raised black. he is whiter than most white people. portraying him as the first black president is wrong. call a spade a spade. obama is the first high-yellow president. think about it.
Agnes, as much as I like the sound of what youre saying, I disagree. Obama is working hard to bring the nation together. why welse would he give away so much of that stimulus bill to the Repub wishes when he really didnt need to? Obama's way is to bring the nation together, as best possible. oh, and to try to TALK to the Iranians by "using his words" instead of his bombs.
It could be Obama's way or the highway.. but he's not even gonna go there. he's above that.
Hey Carly Hart, guess what? You're 100% wrong. Obama knew right off the bat that he didt need a single Repub vote to pass this legislation. but YET he put 33% of it toward tax cuts. Thats EXACTLY what the repubs were asking for and he gave them a third of the ENTIRE bill. but they whined about some $ that he then to appease them cut from the bill. but he didnt have to. but he DID. and then, I think it was then when they pushed his more and whined and said its not what we wanted.. then he said "But I won." GW Bush basically said that during his inauguration speech. Obama waited until well after he reached across the aisle farther than most dems are comfortable with him doing.. he's alienating dems right now to appease whiny repubs.. so what do they do to that hand outstretched across the aisle? In unison the reached right back out at his am slapped that hand by all voting NO on something he stove to make bipartisan. let me reiterate: he didnt have to give them anything to win. he gave
It's Obama's way or the highway and that's the way it is going to be for the next four years.
I applaud Republican unity in voting nay for Obama's stimulus bill. From what I gather, Republican input was rejected and things that Republicans wanted in the bill were cast aside like yesterday's news. So much for bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle. This goes back to Obama's "I won" mentality that you mentioned in a previous article. Winning is great, but being a good sport about it is a whole other matter, I guess.