Money, money, money
I’m no economist. Balancing the checkbook is about the extent of my financial wizardry. But am I the only one who thinks we might not need the currently contemplated economic stimulus package if we hadn’t spent HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars on the war in Iraq? Imagine how stimulated our economy would have been if we had taken those billions and spent them on a massive program to rebuild our country’s crumbling infrastructure. Thousands upon thousands of jobs would be created, from those doing the actual construction to those making the steel and other materials needed for such an undertaking. Perhaps we also could have spent some of those billions on alternative energy programs so that we could end or at least reduce our reliance on foreign oil and other fuels that foul our environment. Those are just two areas where the hundreds of billions might have been better spent. I’m sure you can think of more.
Labels: Politics
posted by Brant at
1:42 PM
1 Comments:
Not that we can actually afford to give away another $168 billion, but is there a better way to spend that kind of money than doling it out to everyone and hoping they spend it on stuff that could actually make a difference in the economy? Won't most people take that $600 to Wal-Mart and buy the cheap Chinese goods that are stocked there? And how does that help anyone but Wal-Mart and China?
A point has been made that if we absolutely have to go in hock for that kind of money (and suggesting that we may need the pain of recession to realize how much the war has cost us is political suicide), the government ought to make sure it is spent by spending the money itself on public works projects, like those you suggest.
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