Economic Stimulus Package

When the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package was approved by Congress this year, I went on record supporting the concept. My reasoning was mostly because I was of the belief that the economic experts and financial advisors who were part of President Obama's team were a lot smarter than I. Plus, I only received a "C" grade in economics.

It has been reported that little more than 15 percent of the total stimulus package will actually be spent in 2009
. In fact, most of our tax dollars will be allocated over the next two years. I suppose I could be disappointed that there will be no immediate impact from the plan that was put into place in March, but I always remind myself that government works slower than small business. I still have hope that a majority of the money will be spent on projects that will actually create jobs and help those who have businesses that need assistance from the financial industry.

Now there is talk that government may approve a second stimulus package
. There are some reports that another round of stimulus checks could amount to as much as $1,000 per taxpaying individual and even more for businesses. Some of my friends say they would welcome another supplement to help pay bills or purchase items that they cannot currently afford.

The best argument for another dose of federal dollars being poured into the system again is that unemployment is only going to get worse before it gets better. Those who have that thought are probably right. But what if government formulated a plan that would reward companies for hiring more employees? I believe the legislative term is "job creation tax credits ", which the State of Wisconsin has been doing for years.

The federal deficit before President Obama took office was $458 billion. Some of the debt is a result of things we all paid for the last eight years. Add in the stimulus package, the federal deficit is expected to be about $1.84 trillion by the end of this year - equal to 13 percent of the gross national output. In the early 1980's, our country set a record deficit that equaled five percent of the gross national product.

But now there is a movement to have government pay out more. Enough already. I am not married, nor do I have children. However, I am proud to be the uncle to two nephews and a niece and I would like to think they would have a fighting chance to pay their bills and live comfortably two decades from now. I am pretty sure inflation is now inevitable, because, if you print more money, the value of the dollar declines. I remember that from Economics 101.