Even the Congressional Budget Office recognizes that any small positive effect of the stimulus bill would be erased by long-term economic stagnation and debt. And that was the previous version of the legislation.
As Joshua points out from the Wall Street Journal, the “compromise” version the House votes on today is even worse:
The latest version of the economic-stimulus package is expected to provide less near-term support for the economy and make it less likely that the economy will pull itself out of recession before late this year.
Meanwhile, Karen Hanretty (via Jon Henke) explains why Barack Obama and the Democrats are trying to speed this disaster through:
President Obama is in a race against time. Because you don’t build support over time. You lose support. In other words, the longer it takes the conference committee to work out a final version of the bill (and we’re talking days, not weeks), the more time there is for the ugly details of this legislative beheamoth to be revealed. It’s happening already, and the more the people know about how the sausage is being made, the less likely they are to want to want a serving.
Obama: “Um, that little pledge about transparency, a 5-day sunshine period for citizens to review legislation online before it’s voted on? You didn’t really think I meant that, did you?”
Sign the No Stimulus petition that more than 400,000 Americans have already signed. And better yet, contact your Congressman now. I’ve already left a message with Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s office.
And I just called DeGette. Wonder if it will do any good…