By Mark Daniels
According to Vermont Democrat Bernie Sanders, "There are a lot of people wondering: What did the stimulus package do? How does my family benefit? Where are the jobs? The answer is: the stimulus has not solved all of the problems caused by the collapse of the global financial system, and the economy continues to struggle to gain traction. But without the hundreds of billions of dollars injected into the economy by the federal stimulus package, the jobless rate would be much higher and the prospects for recovery would be dim.
The first-time homebuyers’ tax credit and the cash-for-clunker program grabbed headlines and helped thousands of Vermonters, but there is more – much more – to the federal economic stimulus program that has kept Vermont and the nation avoid slipping deeper into recession. Ninety-five percent of Americans, for example, received a tax cut of up to $400 (up to $800 for married families) through the Making Work Pay tax credit.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, there were 313,316 Vermont income tax filers in 2006, the latest data available. The Treasury Department has estimated that the tax credit benefits about 95 percent of working families in Vermont.
Formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the ongoing $862 billion bill Congress passed last year has now saved or created at least 2.5 million jobs nationally, according to a recent White House report.
The infusion of federal funds is creating jobs in Vermont, as well.
Through mid-May, nearly $1 billion has been sent to Vermont, creating or saving at least 7,000 jobs. The funds include infrastructure and program costs, as well as payroll. When stimulus-funded tax cuts and grants are included, however, "it would be up to at least $1.3 billion," says Stephen Klein of the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office in Montpelier (initial estimates)."
Did the stimulus really work? This answer to this question really depends upon who you ask. Ask a Democrat like Sanders? Of course, it worked. Ask a Republican? Of course, it didn't work? Ask an Independent? You may get a more balanced answer.
According to King at SCSU Scholoars, "Commenting on Thomas Friedman's suggestion for a 50-page report on global warming to be called "What We Know", Russ Roberts reminds us to be careful about what we say about the stimulus as well:
Most of what Thomas Friedman thinks we know is based on multiple regression analysis trying to hold other factors constant other than human carbon emissions and making a variety of assumptions about the interactions between those factors along with the factors we cannot measure. That is hard to explain to a sixth grader. It can be done But it’s not knowledge. It’s an attempt to gain knowledge.
It is very similar to writing a report for a sixth grader on how the stimulus turned out. We have fewer jobs than we had before. That’s what we know. But even I, a skeptic, wouldn’t call that knowledge about whether the “stimulus” package worked or not. But I wouldn’t use the CBO estimate either. The CBO estimate is a repeat of the forecast it made before the legislation passed. We don’t know how many jobs were created or destroyed by the legislation.
Most of what we write about the effects of stimulus are just that, "an attempt to gain knowledge." A bureaucrat writes down some numbers. Reporters and bloggers find flaws. Econometric models estimate the effects, but those models were used to propose the policy put in place. It's not likely those models would go back and say the proposed plan didn't work: Econometric models aren't built to do that: If the model has as a premise that future government spending will create jobs, it isn't going to tell you that past government spending did not. Meanwhile, those in political opposition will look to find contradictions when none really exist. (GDP growth can lead employment growth.) And people get angrier and cynical.
There is nothing wrong with saying we don't know. It might have worked; it might not have. What we know is there are between three and four million fewer jobs than a year ago, and the deficit is larger. We want to know more. We are trying to know more. And if the volume of studies since 2000 of the Great Depression are any indication, we'll still want to know more a century from now."
So I guess, in the "final analysis", we really don't know if it worked......YET?
What we do know, however, is that Washington is corrupt and the American people are tired of all the LIES AND SPIN! Do we really believe that a real difference exists between the Democrats and Republicans? As long as we are inclined to listen to the rhetoric from a false dichotomy presented by the Democrats and Republicans, we will never see the truth.
What is the truth? The truth is that we need a complete overhaul of our current political and economic system. The power structures are corrupt. We need to examine alternate political and economic systems. We could begin with the following:
1) Abolish the "Federal Reserve", an economic system which has stolen trillions from the masses and given it to the wealthiest internationalists!
2) Stop voting Republican or Democrat; Vote for an Independent!
3) Change the rules so that it is easier for Independents to get on the Ballot!
Of course, this list could be added to ad infinitum....We need to realize that the current Economic and Political systems have failed in their responsibility to "We The People".
Wake Up!
