Will Obama's Stimulus Plan Work? | Newsweek Newsweek - Robert J. Samuelson

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By Robert J. Samuelson

Feb 2, 2009 | Updated: 9:59 a.m. ET Feb 2, 2009

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"Now is the time to make the tough choices."

—Barack Obama, Jan. 26

Among the many claims made for the "economic stimulus" package now before Congress is that it will "jump-start" a "bigger, better, smarter" electric grid, enabling Americans to use energy more efficiently. The package commits $4.5 billion to this, which (says the White House) will help finance 3,000 miles of transmission lines and 40 million "smart meters." Sounds great.

But it may be mostly hype. For starters, $4.5 billion is a pittance. An industry study in 2004— surely outdated—put the price tag of modernizing the grid at $165 billion. More important, says a report from J.P. Morgan, the "smart grid" isn't mainly a matter of building new transmission lines or installing new meters. It's more "communications and information processing technology" that allows for more efficient transportation and use of power.

"The smart grid, while a great idea, is basically a software project," says economist Marc Levinson of J.P. Morgan. "The reason utilities aren't pushing it faster is not lack of money or will, but because there are lots of technical issues and also important compatibility problems so that the various companies' grids can communicate freely with one another."

As it turns out, President Obama didn't make the tough choices on the stimulus package. He could have either used the program mainly (a) to bolster the economy or (b) to advance a larger political agenda, from energy efficiency to school renovation. But Obama wanted both, and, superficially, the two can be portrayed as an enlightened partnership.

"This is not just a short-term program to boost employment," Obama said recently. "It's one that will invest in our most important priorities like energy and education, health care, and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century."

In its releases, the White House gushes superlatives. The stimulus program, says one fact sheet, "launches the most ambitious school modernization program on record," "computerizes every American's health record in five years" and "undertakes the largest weatherization"—insulation—"program in history." What a bonanza of good stuff!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aGq2B3XeGKok&refer=home

U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailouts as Senate Votes
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) --

"The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government???s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation???s home mortgages.

The Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have lent or spent almost $3 trillion over the past two years and pledged to provide up to $5.7 trillion more if needed. The total already tapped has decreased about 1 percent since November, mostly because foreign central banks are using fewer dollars in currency-exchange agreements called swaps. The Senate is to vote early this week on a stimulus package totaling at least $780 billion that President Barack Obama says is needed to avert a deeper recession. That measure would need to be reconciled with an $819 billion plan the House approved last month.

Only the stimulus package to be approved this week, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program passed four months ago and $168 billion in tax cuts and rebates approved in 2008 have been voted on by lawmakers. The remaining $8 trillion in commitments are lending programs and guarantees, almost all under the authority of the Fed and the FDIC. The recipients??? names have not been disclosed. "

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Posted By: Nowforsomemoretruth @ 02/09/2009 9:11:03 PM

When it comes to the economy, Obama is quite simply a liar. Hear him in his own words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr1M1T2Y314&feature=related
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Posted By: Nowforsomemoretruth @ 02/09/2009 10:31:36 AM

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aGq2B3XeGKok&refer=home

U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailouts as Senate Votes
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) --

"The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government???s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation???s home mortgages.

The Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have lent or spent almost $3 trillion over the past two years and pledged to provide up to $5.7 trillion more if needed. The total already tapped has decreased about 1 percent since November, mostly because foreign central banks are using fewer dollars in currency-exchange agreements called swaps. The Senate is to vote early this week on a stimulus package totaling at least $780 billion that President Barack Obama says is needed to avert a deeper recession. That measure would need to be reconciled with an $819 billion plan the House approved last month.

Only the stimulus package to be approved this week, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program passed four months ago and $168 billion in tax cuts and rebates approved in 2008 have been voted on by lawmakers. The remaining $8 trillion in commitments are lending programs and guarantees, almost all under the authority of the Fed and the FDIC. The recipients??? names have not been disclosed. "
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- Report Abuse
Posted By: Charles Dupuy @ 02/09/2009 12:25:54 AM

Fear to address the problem in the first place by letting the big banks and other questionable institutions simply go under and let the chips fall where they may is what is going to cause A DEPRESSION, no matter how cataclysmic it be.
By triying to postpone taking the bitter medicine, the people of the U.S. will have to take it later in a more worse situation.
Also the best way to guarantee transparency and fulfullment of a program when enacting a program is DON'T ENACT IT!!!.
Charles Dupuiy