Economy in the ER

It seems to me there are as many opinions as there are opinion-makers on the economic stimulus bill that passed the House yesterday and is now en route to the Senate for another round of markups and a likely yes vote. Even proponents of the bill are cautious in their praise, except for President Obama and Speaker Pelosi who are in full cheerleader mode. I have an opinion, too:

If you go to the emergency room because you are having a heart attack, they don't give you cholesterol pills and send you home. The economic stimulus bill passing through Congress as we speak is the equivalent of hearing a doctor shout, Clear! As long as we hear a heartbeat afterwards, we can move on to the pills and the diet and exercise and the follow-ups and the lifestyle changes. For now, the American economy (maybe the world economy) is in the ER, not the walk-in clinic.

Has the economy really bottomed out? Probably not, but do we need that to happen before we do something about it? To take the medical analogy further, you don't wait until you're dead to call the ambulance. One thing all sides can agree on is that America and Americans are in financial trouble -- big trouble -- it's just what to do about it that we don't see eye to eye on. I would say, however, nothing is not it. More on the medical analogy: when someone saves your life, and another person works out a long term health strategy for you, who are you most grateful to? I'd bet it's the person who saved your life.

Democrats are banking on that gratitude, and need it even more than ever now that the GOP has fully retracted themselves from the stimulus bill. Not one Republican congressman voted for the bill, and a few Democrats came along for the opposition ride, too. I have no inside information, but I would also guess that, even though Democrats didn't need Republicans to pass this legislation, an en masse boycott of the bill in the House may allow for more Republican input in the Senate, may require it. One way or another, according to the Congressional Budget Office, we are going to pump somewhere around $1.1 Trillion dollars into US infrastructure, education, health care, social programs, mass transit, green conversions and tax benefits. The main debate seems to be over three prongs: 1) effectiveness, 2) oversight, and 3) long term results.

One resounding sentiment seems to be that the poorest people in America are going to get money, fast, and are expected to spend it fast. Again with the medical analogy: it's financial triage, and it makes sense. Under this legislation, states are being granted large discretionary funds (in the multi-billions) and are receiving a wash of additional cash to flush out existing programs, which means larger groups of individuals, businesses and institutions that have capital but have been holding it, will be able to petition the state directly for money, while we give a hand up to the poorest and most needy among us. Opponents of this strategy are comparing it to the Tax Stimulus checks we all got last year that did... um, nothing for "the economy". I'll tell you what it did: it paid down debt, put food on the table, and staved off homelessness and hunger for at least a few weeks for a lot of people. A few weeks is nothing to the government and to the millionaire lawmakers who think they understand poverty. Even a few days, and as little as a few dollars, could be the difference between life and death for a lot of Americans. And it's been that way for a long time, not just since the government noticed that Americans are struggling. President Obama is making good on a promise here -- too all Americans, particularly the ones who actually need something, rather than believe they deserve it.

Back in December I asked, Can We Just Save The Workers? This is a major step in that direction. I agree with a good deal of the legislation's opposition, but I also agree with the Democratic majority that believes this is an emergency and needs broad, confident, major and swift action to deal with it. We can deal with the nuts and bolts as we go -- and I would also bet Senate GOP heavyweights are going to get their way with oversight before it's all said and done. But, as I have already said, we're treating the economy for a heart attack right now, not a hangnail.

Rather than litter this article with hyperlinks, I am providing a list of articles about the stimulus package here:

House Vote on H.R.1: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year ending 2009
An $800 Billion Mistake
Stimulus Plan Brings Real Relief
Economic Stimulus or Opportunism?
The Stimulus Advances
A Stimulus With Merit, and Misses Too
RESEARCH: Stimulus Bill Full of Pork and Payoffs
Highlights of economic stimulus plan
The Rundown