Obama, Dems Plan $500B Economic Package

President-Elect Looks To Enact Rescue Package Soon After Inauguration; Plan Would Worsen Already Large U.S. Deficit

(AP)  Congressional Democrats and President-elect Barack Obama are laying the groundwork for quick enactment in January of a giant, two-year economic rescue package that will total about a half-trillion dollars.

His economic team in place, Obama has tasked his aides with assembling an ambitious measure to not only swiftly pump money into the battered economy, but also create 2.5 million new jobs, send a tax cut to the poor and middle class, and make massive government investments in energy-saving and other technologies designed to pay for themselves in the long run.

Some senior Democratic lawmakers put the cost of the package as high as $700 billion, a figure Obama's team calls premature and several Democratic aides said was unlikely. One top Democratic congressional official, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks on the economic rescue measure are ongoing, said it will probably cost between $400 billion and $500 billion over two years.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters in his homestate of Nevada on Monday that the plan, which is still taking shape, "will be about $500 billion," and said he would move it through Congress "fairly quickly," in January, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The president-elect has already acknowledged that its price tag will be far higher than the $175 billion economic aid plan he advocated while he was campaigning for the White House.

"We have to make sure that the stimulus is significant enough that it really gives a jolt to the economy, that it is putting people back to work, that it is making investments, that it is restoring some confidence in the business community that, in fact, their products and services are going to have customers," Obama said Monday as he announced his economic team.

Declining repeatedly to estimate the cost of the plan, Obama said, "It's going to be costly."

Indeed, many economists now agree that in order to jump-start the anemic economy, Obama needs to put in place a rescue costing at least $300 billion to $400 billion, or 2 percent of the size of the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product.

It needs to be "very big, because it's a very serious situation," said Alice M. Rivlin, a Brookings Institution economist and former top budget official who has been advising Democratic leaders on the size and scope of the forthcoming package. "We do need to stimulate the economy and to keep this snowballing recession from getting worse."

Democratic congressional leaders have been pressing for months for another "stimulus" plan to follow the $168 billion package of tax rebates enacted in February. In a statement Monday praising Obama's economic team, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said President George W. Bush and congressional Republicans should agree to a second economic aid plan before year's end, to "provide a down payment on new job-creating infrastructure investments, help states avoid deep cuts to health care and other essential services, and provide nutrition assistance to struggling families."

But there's little chance that Bush and the Democratic Congress will reach a breakthrough on such a measure. Instead, Obama's team and Democratic leaders are hard at work on Plan B: The new Congress that convenes in early January will move swiftly on an aid package, readying it for Obama's signature as one of his first acts after being inaugurated.

The measure is likely to include a beefed-up version of a $61 billion stimulus plan the House passed in September, which included $37 billion in spending on public works projects such as road-building and water and sewage projects; about $15 billion in aid to cash-strapped states to guard against cuts to health care for the poor; a $3 billion boost in food stamp aid; and a $7 billion jobless benefits extension for unemployed workers whose payments would otherwise run out.

Those elements are likely to grow, given that economic conditions have worsened since that legislation was drafted, said people familiar with the emerging plan.

Obama has also embraced calls for a "green jobs" program that invests as much as $100 billion in projects to slash harmful emissions. This could include projects such as retrofitting buildings to make them more energy-efficient, upgrading the electrical grid and improving mass transit.

"It turns out that putting money into green technologies ... has a very large positive employment effect relative to tax cuts," said Robert Pollin, a University of Massachusetts-Amherst economist who has written extensively on what he calls the "green recovery."

"It's very efficient in terms of creating jobs for a given amount of spending, and it has the added benefit that the short-term effects are compatible with long-term needs in the economy," Pollin said.

Democrats also plan to include tax cuts for low- and middle-class workers, along the lines of what Obama proposed on the campaign trail. One likely component is Obama's proposal to send tax credits of $500 to individuals and $1,000 to couples, including payments for people who make too little to owe any taxes. Those credits are estimated to cost about $115 billion in their first two years, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Obama's aides have said the early-January recovery plan will not include a tax increase for those earning $250,000 or more annually, something the president-elect has vowed to put in place to, in his words Monday, "restore some balance to our tax code." But economists caution that the measure, which will add substantially to the already soaring deficit, will have to contain some significant trade-offs to avoid making things worse.

"If you're going to do something that is big and long-run, like a major infrastructure effort that lasts into the future, then you need to offset it some way — either with tax increases or other kinds of spending cuts," Rivlin said.

[colt8881]

500 Billion

Bush spent that in a DAY & 400 Billion went to his Cronies and the other 100 Billion was for private jets and luxury get aways.

[hatesthecolt]

Well lets see Bush never balanced it so what is your Point. God I love dumb people. It really shows the intellect of some

Posted by DJ_IL

Exactly; where the h$ll were these guys when the republicans were raping the treasury. They sure found fiscal conservative religion all of a sudden!

[antoniof123]

Man I will tell you what when the Repbulicans screw something up they make it so it can''t be fixed.

But don''t worry GOP we will not forget this mess you let us with.

[iamfreeru]

Help is on its way? With whose money? Soon it will run out and then what? Obama will be standing alone looking like the fool with whom you elected,saying :
"...but I wasn''''t experianced to run this country, why did you choose me?" Never his fault. Never your fault, either, right??

[bjcone8559]

This Industry has so many applications that it would revolutionize American manufacturing.
Farmers wouldn''''t be able to grow enough to sustain the demand because this commodity wouldn''''t be restricted to one use alone.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by owlmirror



What have you been smoking?.... OH!

[homespunlady]

Posted by marcosis78 at 05:41 PM : Nov 25, 2008

The "Domino Theory" went out with Viet Nam.
If you take your perceived threat to the limit -even ASPIRIN would be illegal without a prescription.

GREAT for the Pharmaceutical industry - as they bankrupt the REST of us by charging 1000 times the cost of manufacturing EVERYTHING you now buy over the counter or might grow in your herb garden.

There are some in power that agree with you that ALL alternatives other than "officially approved" should be illegal.

The real push against hemp was NOT drug based but was largely LOBBIED for by the wood based paper industry as it took decades to grow trees versus ONE SEASON with hemp and the hemp paper didn''t degrade like caustic pine paper did.

Might be why many of our founding fathers used HEMP to write their most important documents.

But for now, hemp fiber, paper, industrial and edible oils, edible seed (NO THC -so it''s also legal) as well as nutritious, flour, etc. are mostly IMPORTS that like so much else enriches the countries shipping it to us and adds to the trade deficit while WE could be much wealthier growing and processing it here.

[myhog6]

Here is a Stimulus Package for Taxpayers

Est. 140 Million
Send each a check for $50,000
Buy a car or anything you want

140M x $50,000 = $7 Trillion

WHY NOT?

It only raises the $12 Trillion expected early 2009 under Obama to $19 Trillion.

That leaves Obama another $1 Trillion to finish 2009 with a National Debt of $20 Trillion.

REMEMBER: ECONOMY FIRST

[myhog6]

N A T I O N A L D E B T

[myhog6]

Where is all this money coming from?

Now that we are past $10.5 Trillion, the Democrats react like another $10 Trillion is justified.

RECKLESS IS WHAT RECKLESS DOES

TWO TRAINS APPROACHING ON THE SAME TRACK

ONE FILLED WITH DEMOCRATS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

ONE FILLED WITH DEMOCRATS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

What a meeting place !!!!

At the Bridge to No Where.

[chloemontague]

LISTEN TO OUR CALLS TO THE KENYAN EMBASSY ABOUT BARACK OBAMA!

November 21, 2008

We recently called the Kenyan Embassy and learned some pretty interesting things about our President elect, Barack Obama.

From Mike In The Morning radio show, it goes for just 19mins%u2026 quite entertaining. Obama is so reveled that Kenya had a Public Holiday!

tinyurl.com/69zlcp

[think-people]

WHERE IS TOUGH-TALKING BUSH & CHENEY?

Oh, I know, now that the economy has turned sour and in the worst shape since the Great Depression, the dynamic duo is trying to make a "CUT & RUN" strategy.

Even if Bush never caused any of these national disasters, he is still accountable to the people to fix the problem, or to come up with solutions. Apparently Bush never heard the phrase . . . "The buck stops here".

BUSH IS COLLECTING A "COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF PAYCHECK" WHILE AWOL.

[element51]

marcosis78....You are confusing industrial hemp and marajuana. They are two entirely different plants. While they look alike, there is virtually no THC in industrial hemp. Without THC there is no "drug" involved. It is your thinking that prevents being able to provide a new industry. Industrial hemp makes excellent cloth and rope just to name two products. It is time to get past the old "reefer madness" thinking of the 1930''s and start to think in a more progressive way. When industrial hemp was grown during the second world war there was not an increase in marajuana use. And to this day, there is still wild hemp, called ditch weed, that grows in various parts of the country. Don''t be afraid of something that is harmless. We need to put industrial hemp back as a viable cash crop.

[marcosis78]

You have to look at society as a whole. If we allow that to be OK, people will eventually think that they will try and complain and lobby (or whatever) to get another drug legalized. Its a snowball affect that people who like drugs use, as well as society does as a whole to get what they want.

[element51]

owlmirror....You are absolutely right! I have said for years that it is ridiculous to not allow hemp production. The number of products that can be made is astronomical. And it is a plant that will grow almost anywhere with very little maintainance. People are mistaken that industrial hemp is the same as marajuana. It isn''t. You could smoke a whole acre of industrial hemp and all you get is a headache. It was grown during WW2 and still grows wild in some areas of the country. It''s time that the government takes another look at this product and allow production to begin. I wish I know how to get someone to get behind this. There are thousands of small farmers who have land that won''t grow traditional crops but would grow industrial hemp easily. Just think of the possibilities.

[RichardOwlMirror]

President-elect Obama says he wants to "jolt the economy" as well as invest in renewable alternative energy sources.

If President-elect Obama wants to "jolt the economy", he will reauthorize Industrial Hemp Agriculture throughout America. Simply by re-designating Industrial Hemp as a commodity a plethora of manufacturing jobs would be created by investors.

This action would require no investment by the Federal government beyond issuing rules of compliance.

European Industrial Hemp Association @ http://www.eiha.org/

http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/

Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance @ http://www.hemptrade.ca

NEW ZEALAND HEMP INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION @ http://www.nzhia.com/

The Hemp Industries Association @ http://www.thehia.org/

Trade Organizations in Canada, USA and the Rest of the World
http://www.industrialhemp.net/trade.html

This one act would do such and provide an entirely new industry for investment and manufacturing opportunities.

I confidently suggest America could develop more than 25 Million new jobs in the next two years if this commodity were available in America.

This Industry has so many applications that it would revolutionize American manufacturing.
Farmers wouldn''t be able to grow enough to sustain the demand because this commodity wouldn''t be restricted to one use alone.

[dinkydog1]

Rowdy,

"These people" you talk about are people like you and may soon be you. No one is immune from what will happen if the government doesn''''t step in you imbecile!


Posted by Mcliar at 01:06 PM : Nov 25, 2008

................

You should know by now reason and facts don''t work with Rowdy, they just make her mad and she post even more garbage. So please, stop calling poor Rowdy an imbecile. Her post are creative, colorful and even if they are downright ignorant some of us out here find them entertaining.

[ldvuong]

More spending, and more well-fare, without budget restraint, it is the old Democratic party''s policy. Bush and the rest of the world will have the last laugh. Only time can tell, how Mr. Obama deals with the world events such as 9/11, disasters and distatorship, from North Korea to Iran.

[dinkydog1]

Your pinko commie academia has convinced everyone in the US that actual labor is a shamful profession, and that everyone should be working in nice cushy think tank jobs and that if they can''''t have that, then they should rebel and sit home on their butts until they get it!


Posted by Rowdydfw at 12:55 PM : Nov 25, 2008

....................................

You should be more technical with your name calling Rowdy, you cant be a pinko and a commie, you have to be one or the other.

[dinkydog1]

Since free market is all that''''s supporting your arse after the Clinton criminals crashed the finance markets and we have no investors to help secure loans...you better pray those free market companies keep on operating...otherwise your foot is sitting right on top of slippery goose poop, right into communism.


Posted by Rowdydfw at 12:49 PM : Nov 25, 2008

......................................

Rowdy, would you be intrested in a cruse ship ticket to Kansas?

[likenoone-2009]

and just who do you think pays for this