Stimulus 2009: Our Tax Dollars are “Chump Change”?

I try hard to keep pure politics out of my writing.  My hard truth concerns with the stimulus/spendulus bill are economic, not political.  

Yet, it is hard to ignore some of the statements being made about the Obama stimulus plan by politicians.  Thus, my advice to Obama and his party’s leadership is to back down the political rhetoric and let Obama’s economic team be the public voice for the merits of the plan.

Where are those economic advisers?  Have they been effectively muzzled by political interests?  Do they share my concern that there can’t be a lot of pure economic good inside a stimulus bill that has reached 700 pages in length and is still growing? Read more

Stimulus Package 2009: Lightning Round Reactions

The Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced legislation this week containing $825 billion in new tax credits and government spending, packaged together in what they call the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.”  I grabbed an executive summary of the Plan from Speaker Pelosi’s website so that I could share some quick reactions to the Plan. Read more

If I Promise to Spend it, Will Obama Send Me Stimulus Money?

Neither Obama nor Congress have any desire to send Mr. ToughMoneyLove any part of the gazillion dollar stimulus packages that are being discussed.  No tax cut, no tax credit, no check in the mail, nada, none.  No, the government wants me on the outside, looking in on the stimulus plan for two reasons: (1)  I make too much money;  and (2) I’m not broke.  (I probably should qualify “I’m not broke” by adding “yet.”  I’m afraid that after the government gets finished stimulating everyone but me, I will go broke through a combination of higher taxes and inflation destroying the value of the dollars we have stashed away in savings.) Read more

Can the Deflation Equation Produce Good News for the U.S. Economy?

In its December Economic News Release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics seems to confirm that the U.S. economy has clearly entered a deflationary period.  To be accurate, the BLS does not actually make judgments like that for public consumption.  ”Deflation” is Mr. ToughMoneyLove’s hard truth assessment of this recent data.  (What would you call it?) Read more