Stimulating Someone's Economy

Well, I received my 'economic stimulus' yesterday.  I'm not sure what we'll do with it.  Probably it will go into a money market account for the time being.  The total tab for all of these economic stimulus checks (actually, wire transfers in most cases) is about $150 billion. 

Of course, the government doesn't have that kind of money.  In case you've been asleep somewhere, the US Government is running a huge deficit thanks to President Bush.  So the government is borrowing the money to pay us all the tax rebates which are supposed to stimulate the economy.  I presume the cost of this will fall on my children or grandchildren, so thanks kids!

From what I read, a lot of the money will be used for one-time purchases - that high definition TV people have been wanting, or or to pay down credit card debt - I'm sure Citicorp will appreciate that - they could use the money. 

I guess the sad thing about this is that there are so many useful things the congress and the president could have done with the $150 billion that would not only stimulate the economy but would address some of our problems too.

For example, the money could have been used for school construction - distributed to the states and then used to fix up existing schools or build desperately-needed new schools.  Or the money could have been used for highway and mass transit construction - a way to reduce the amount of gas we use either by reducing congestion or getting us out of our cars altogether.  Or to make long-deferred repairs to facilities in our national parks. 

These are just some examples, but they have something in common.  They are construction-oriented to provide jobs for the many displaced from the home construction business and they leave something of lasting value for our children, who are going to pay the bill anyway. 

Of course, all of these would take a bit longer to get started than just shoveling money at the voters, but virtually all of the jobs created would be here in the United States, not in China, Taiwan or South Korea where they make those great TVs and the Wiis. 

There was a time when our leaders, in times of economic downturn would look to solutions that would not only stimulate the economy but would provide employment for Americans and use the money to provide a lasting benefit for the future.  Look at the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Bonneville Power Authority, the Hoover Dam, the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration.  What we're doing now is pretty dismal by comparison.

And it's easy to blame our leaders for this, but the problem is really with us.  We demand instant gratification.  We want everything now and don't want to pay for it.  Let our kids do that.  And President Bush has learned this perfectly.  If he had his way, he and his Republican cohorts would eliminate every tax and push government spending and borrowing to a new high.  As another famous leader said a few years ago: 'Après moi le Deluge', and he was right. 

I guess I'll just wait; the bread and circuses can't be far off.