What do you get for a trillion dollar stimulus bill? Not much, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But “the long-run effect on GDP may be slightly negative due to crowding out. As for employment, the CBO estimates the bill will create 1.2 to 3.3 million jobs at the end of 2010. By the end of the President’s first term, the projected impact of the bill falls to 0.3 to 0.7 million jobs.”
Club for Growth gives an award to Sens. Specter, Collins and Snowe. Well, it’s more like a booby prize.
How do you raise a trillion dollars in new taxes? This is a handy guide to how Obama proposes we do it. Just when you think “taxes aren’t a big issue anymore,” they are.
Larry Kudlow calls Tim Geither’s appearance on the Hill preaching taxes in a bear market an “extraordinary,” “virtually stupid,” “mistaken” and “unseemly” performance.”
Robert Barro writes: “Given our situation, it is right that radical government policies should be considered if they promise to lower the probability and likely size of a depression. However, many governmental actions — including several pursued by Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression — can make things worse. I wish I could be confident that the array of U.S. policies already in place and those likely forthcoming will be helpful. But I think it more likely that the economy will eventually recover despite these policies, rather than because of them.”
Phil Klein reports that the healthcare czarina made a fortune on boards of companies which will now come under her purview. Not very changey.
James Antle asks some good questions about Specter and his seat.
Steny Hoyer says the president can’t do anything about earmarks. “Won’t” is more accurate. There is this veto thing.
Chris Buckley, David Brooks and now Jim Cramer. Soon they’ll need support groups for “Duped By Obama” victims.
Now this is a rant.
Snubbing our best ally? I thought we were supposed to be “repairing” our image around the world.
Is Governor David Paterson toast? Andrew Cuomo is having the last laugh. But if Paterson doesn’t go quietly there will be a nasty primary. In which case the Republicans get the last laugh.
Norm Coleman’s lawyers now want to have the entire election voided? That would make Al Franken seem like the reasonable one. But maybe the ultra-liberal Star Tribune got the story wrong. Whoops.
Despite his millions, Terry McAuliffe is still essentially deadlocked in his Democratic primary and his unfavorable ratings are twice that of his competitors. If his unfavorables are high now, wait until the ads on Global Crossing start running.
Gallup has consumer confidence at 3%. It seems that the entire premise of the Keynesian spend-a-thon falters unless people are confident enough to start hiring, buying and investing. Perhaps the Obama team has a Plan B.
Ben Smith reports on a letter to the Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Chas Freeman’s associations with the Saudis. But it’s not correct to characterize the opposition to Freeman as from the “pro-Israel right.” Somehow I think Marty Peretz, Jonathan Chait and Jeffrey Goldberg would object.
