I think no matter what a president does there's always gonna be haters who are going to disagree with it. Especially since Obama is a democratic president the republicans are inevitably going to have an issue with what he does. I'm sure the stimulus plan did have an affect even if it was not as big as an effect as they would have hoped but I think it was resourceful and a good idea even if it wasn't flawless. - Avneet
I actually read this article this past Sunday when it was in the paper. I think its interesting how the Democrats are so passive on how successful the stimulus was. I guess its mainly because the results weren't as tangible - the economy was maintained and prevented from further plummeting. In this sense, it seems as if the GOP is actually more unified and more motivated. It will be interesting to see how Obama will use these final statistics on the stimulus to his advantage. All in all, this data exemplifies the positive effects of expansionary fiscal policy through government spending and interestingly highlights the enormous lag time for the stimulus to take effect. - Ankoor Talwar, pd. 5 Micro
To be honest, I didn't realize the extent to which the stimulus benefited the country. While reading this article, I found myself less focused on learning new facts about the plan and more on how much propaganda and other forms of influence truly did sell the plan as a failed project. I see a certain happening everywhere, even in some of my classes, where people argue for or against certain plans or packages that could be very beneficial for the people of the country simply because it is advocated by a particular political party. I've seen people cheer on republicans the same way they do the yankees. Ultimately, the political parties are here to help the people, but I feel that this 'competition' to see which set of ideals should be used to benefit the citizens the most is actually inhibiting, especially in the past few years, the true amount of progress the country could be experiencing.
I think it's sad the way many Republicans nowadays like to bend facts simply to pursue their own political agenda. This can be seen on multiple issues, such as the stimulus package, but also with global warming. Issues of economics shouldn't have to be so politicized in order for people to understand it as good and bad. Economic policy should be carried out logically and empirically, and the political process can cloud logic and cause poor policy choices. It's good that our Federal Reserve is relatively free from political pressure, because if we were to have similar issues with monetary policy as we do with fiscal policy, our economy would be doomed.
This article interests me because it shows how political disagreements can affect the economy. Republicans have been able to falsely brand the stimulus as a failure and Democrats haven't "trumpeted its success" like they should have. I don't think there should be any argument of whether or not the stimulus was effective; the numbers show that it was.
I have always considered myself a fiscal republican. Looking at the stimulus, it is hard to argue against a core economic principle that is not only tested, but has worked in the past. I believe that the stimulus did help the economy. Whether or not it was extremely effective is debatable. One thing that is certain is that it left the country in a better economic standpoint that previously.
This article is just as much about politics as it us about economics. From an objective standpoint, the main accomplishment of the stimulus was that it prevented us from falling off the cliff, but it did not help us climb higher. This is essentially the basis for Republican scapegoating efforts. In economic terms, a stimulus package is common sense. By increasing spending, we increase aggregate demand, we increase output. In my opinion, a republican official will one day espouse this philosophy and then the laughs will be on him or her.
Shana Sanichar: Interestingly, people always hear that the stimulus plan was a complete failure. However, this article directly shows the positive outcomes that happened due to this plan. I believe the main reason Republicans are criticizing the plan so harshly is because there were not really any improvements. However, there were important preventions. The plan prevented the economy from getting worse as well as decreasing poverty. As Americans, we believed the plan did not work because we could not see any drastic change before our eyes, however it provided important steps into the right direction.
I did a debate in AP Macro about the Economic Stimulus Plan and wether or not America needed another one. Although many people believe that the 2009 Stimulus Package that was implemented in February didn't do anything, I think it did help the economy by not making things worse. Without the plan, I feel that America would have been in a deep and prolonged recession and this stimulus package is giving the economy some balance. I also think that within the next few years, the economy should improve because it takes a few years for the package to work. -Anik Shah
-if there was a bigger stimulus plan though, wouldn't that mean that you would need more money? -so it [stimulus] is effective - Republicans just don't want to own up to the truth -wow, from this article Republicans are being made out as idiots - even experts observe that the stimulus plan was effective! -this reminds me of something Lewis Black said (in response to Democrats not defending the success of the stimulus and Republicans talking trash about it - Republicans and Democrats are like a bowl of poo [but more 'colorful' word] staring back at itself in the mirror -there's a very good impact on people and it's very appealing -I find it stupid that our two party system only conflicts itself - this reminded me of what Lincoln once said, that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" -Andrew Lee, pd 5 Micro
The United States economic struggle has become a battle of partisanship and winning office. Time after time they fail to get over party differences to actually try and fix something. American's also fail to see the big picture of economics and just cause some people stay unlucky in the job struggle doesn't mean the country is still declining. -ZL
I think that this article highlights the truth. Without Obama's stimulus package, the recession that we suffered would have been much, MUCH worse. Obama came in at a good time and was able to save jobs and promote growth during a period of tough times. In addition, "It improved 42,000 miles of road, fixed or replaced 2,700 bridges, and bought more than 12,000 transit vehicles." Such benefits from the plan are also bolstered by reports from the CBO and many independent activists. The republicans should stop touting their horn incorrectly.
This article goes back to the Keynesian policy--to get out of a depression, government spending is needed. Thus, more money into the people and businesses will spur growth and revenue to help motivate the economy. Government spending is the most useful way to get an economy out of a recession/depression largely because if supply side economics were to be used, it is not definite that businesses would reinvest back into the American economy.
What I find most irritating is that nowadays party conflicts are overpowering the safety and protection of the American people. Congress is become selfish in its desire to only pass policies that benefit their political parties popularity--even if the opposing side has an intelligent plan, the bill won't pass because of the opposing parties selfish concerns.
I anticipate that throughout these various blog postings, particularly the ones that are overtly political, I will be the sole voice of conservatism. With that, it is easy then to anticipate that I harbor less than supportive views on the Obama stimulus package. Why? I refute the idea that the stimulus package was beneficial to the American economy. Many liberal economists argue that not only was the stimulus effective, a larger stimulus would have had even greater beneficial effects. In fact, the only thing that would have been accomplished by a larger stimulus package would be more taxpayer money wasted. The portion of the package that actually went to vaunted infrastructure programs was a mere 10% while unemployment in the construction remained (and remains) in double-digits. Overall unemployment has not been much better. It took about 4 years for unemployment to finally drop below 8% and that figure is deceiving due to the incredibly high number of people who dropped out of the workforce or could only work fewer hours. Economic growth has barely averaged 2%. The real problem with our economy is not a lack of government spending. Too many potential workers lack the proper education and skills to re-enter the workforce. A far superior solution would be policies that reduce the tax and regulatory burdens on America's true job creators.
I did a debate on whether or not we should have another stimulus package. My partner and I analyzed the stimulus package and we came to the conclusion that the stimulus package was effective in that it prevented our economy from getting as worse as it would have without it, but it didn't do as much as it should have according to President Obama.
I find it irritating that Republicans still try to deny the fact that the stimulus package was a failure. What would the opposing side prefer if no stimulus was enacted? Sure the American Jobs Act and infrastructure bank was killed. But it is necessary to realize that things must be sacrificed. We will lose certain programs but if the overall picture is protected, then why should a few sacrifices matter? America is always in a deficit. We owe over billions of dollars to the rest of the world. Why should spending more even matter at this point? We're already to deep in debt.
I think no matter what a president does there's always gonna be haters who are going to disagree with it. Especially since Obama is a democratic president the republicans are inevitably going to have an issue with what he does. I'm sure the stimulus plan did have an affect even if it was not as big as an effect as they would have hoped but I think it was resourceful and a good idea even if it wasn't flawless. - Avneet
ReplyDeleteI actually read this article this past Sunday when it was in the paper. I think its interesting how the Democrats are so passive on how successful the stimulus was. I guess its mainly because the results weren't as tangible - the economy was maintained and prevented from further plummeting. In this sense, it seems as if the GOP is actually more unified and more motivated. It will be interesting to see how Obama will use these final statistics on the stimulus to his advantage. All in all, this data exemplifies the positive effects of expansionary fiscal policy through government spending and interestingly highlights the enormous lag time for the stimulus to take effect.
ReplyDelete- Ankoor Talwar, pd. 5 Micro
To be honest, I didn't realize the extent to which the stimulus benefited the country. While reading this article, I found myself less focused on learning new facts about the plan and more on how much propaganda and other forms of influence truly did sell the plan as a failed project. I see a certain happening everywhere, even in some of my classes, where people argue for or against certain plans or packages that could be very beneficial for the people of the country simply because it is advocated by a particular political party. I've seen people cheer on republicans the same way they do the yankees. Ultimately, the political parties are here to help the people, but I feel that this 'competition' to see which set of ideals should be used to benefit the citizens the most is actually inhibiting, especially in the past few years, the true amount of progress the country could be experiencing.
ReplyDeleteI think it's sad the way many Republicans nowadays like to bend facts simply to pursue their own political agenda. This can be seen on multiple issues, such as the stimulus package, but also with global warming. Issues of economics shouldn't have to be so politicized in order for people to understand it as good and bad. Economic policy should be carried out logically and empirically, and the political process can cloud logic and cause poor policy choices. It's good that our Federal Reserve is relatively free from political pressure, because if we were to have similar issues with monetary policy as we do with fiscal policy, our economy would be doomed.
ReplyDeleteThis article interests me because it shows how political disagreements can affect the economy. Republicans have been able to falsely brand the stimulus as a failure and Democrats haven't "trumpeted its success" like they should have. I don't think there should be any argument of whether or not the stimulus was effective; the numbers show that it was.
ReplyDeleteI have always considered myself a fiscal republican. Looking at the stimulus, it is hard to argue against a core economic principle that is not only tested, but has worked in the past. I believe that the stimulus did help the economy. Whether or not it was extremely effective is debatable. One thing that is certain is that it left the country in a better economic standpoint that previously.
ReplyDeleteThis article is just as much about politics as it us about economics. From an objective standpoint, the main accomplishment of the stimulus was that it prevented us from falling off the cliff, but it did not help us climb higher. This is essentially the basis for Republican scapegoating efforts. In economic terms, a stimulus package is common sense. By increasing spending, we increase aggregate demand, we increase output. In my opinion, a republican official will one day espouse this philosophy and then the laughs will be on him or her.
ReplyDelete~Rifath
Shana Sanichar:
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, people always hear that the stimulus plan was a complete failure. However, this article directly shows the positive outcomes that happened due to this plan. I believe the main reason Republicans are criticizing the plan so harshly is because there were not really any improvements. However, there were important preventions. The plan prevented the economy from getting worse as well as decreasing poverty. As Americans, we believed the plan did not work because we could not see any drastic change before our eyes, however it provided important steps into the right direction.
I did a debate in AP Macro about the Economic Stimulus Plan and wether or not America needed another one. Although many people believe that the 2009 Stimulus Package that was implemented in February didn't do anything, I think it did help the economy by not making things worse. Without the plan, I feel that America would have been in a deep and prolonged recession and this stimulus package is giving the economy some balance. I also think that within the next few years, the economy should improve because it takes a few years for the package to work.
ReplyDelete-Anik Shah
-if there was a bigger stimulus plan though, wouldn't that mean that you would need more money?
ReplyDelete-so it [stimulus] is effective - Republicans just don't want to own up to the truth
-wow, from this article Republicans are being made out as idiots - even experts observe that the stimulus plan was effective!
-this reminds me of something Lewis Black said (in response to Democrats not defending the success of the stimulus and Republicans talking trash about it - Republicans and Democrats are like a bowl of poo [but more 'colorful' word] staring back at itself in the mirror
-there's a very good impact on people and it's very appealing
-I find it stupid that our two party system only conflicts itself - this reminded me of what Lincoln once said, that "a house divided against itself cannot stand"
-Andrew Lee, pd 5 Micro
The United States economic struggle has become a battle of partisanship and winning office. Time after time they fail to get over party differences to actually try and fix something. American's also fail to see the big picture of economics and just cause some people stay unlucky in the job struggle doesn't mean the country is still declining.
ReplyDelete-ZL
I think that this article highlights the truth. Without Obama's stimulus package, the recession that we suffered would have been much, MUCH worse. Obama came in at a good time and was able to save jobs and promote growth during a period of tough times. In addition, "It improved 42,000 miles of road, fixed or replaced 2,700 bridges, and bought more than 12,000 transit vehicles." Such benefits from the plan are also bolstered by reports from the CBO and many independent activists. The republicans should stop touting their horn incorrectly.
ReplyDelete-William Chung
This article goes back to the Keynesian policy--to get out of a depression, government spending is needed. Thus, more money into the people and businesses will spur growth and revenue to help motivate the economy. Government spending is the most useful way to get an economy out of a recession/depression largely because if supply side economics were to be used, it is not definite that businesses would reinvest back into the American economy.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find most irritating is that nowadays party conflicts are overpowering the safety and protection of the American people. Congress is become selfish in its desire to only pass policies that benefit their political parties popularity--even if the opposing side has an intelligent plan, the bill won't pass because of the opposing parties selfish concerns.
- Ravina
I anticipate that throughout these various blog postings, particularly the ones that are overtly political, I will be the sole voice of conservatism. With that, it is easy then to anticipate that I harbor less than supportive views on the Obama stimulus package. Why?
ReplyDeleteI refute the idea that the stimulus package was beneficial to the American economy. Many liberal economists argue that not only was the stimulus effective, a larger stimulus would have had even greater beneficial effects. In fact, the only thing that would have been accomplished by a larger stimulus package would be more taxpayer money wasted. The portion of the package that actually went to vaunted infrastructure programs was a mere 10% while unemployment in the construction remained (and remains) in double-digits. Overall unemployment has not been much better. It took about 4 years for unemployment to finally drop below 8% and that figure is deceiving due to the incredibly high number of people who dropped out of the workforce or could only work fewer hours. Economic growth has barely averaged 2%.
The real problem with our economy is not a lack of government spending. Too many potential workers lack the proper education and skills to re-enter the workforce. A far superior solution would be policies that reduce the tax and regulatory burdens on America's true job creators.
I did a debate on whether or not we should have another stimulus package. My partner and I analyzed the stimulus package and we came to the conclusion that the stimulus package was effective in that it prevented our economy from getting as worse as it would have without it, but it didn't do as much as it should have according to President Obama.
ReplyDelete- CN
I find it irritating that Republicans still try to deny the fact that the stimulus package was a failure. What would the opposing side prefer if no stimulus was enacted? Sure the American Jobs Act and infrastructure bank was killed. But it is necessary to realize that things must be sacrificed. We will lose certain programs but if the overall picture is protected, then why should a few sacrifices matter? America is always in a deficit. We owe over billions of dollars to the rest of the world. Why should spending more even matter at this point? We're already to deep in debt.
ReplyDelete-Russell