Comments on: Obama’s Road to Recovery – More Jobs, More Money in Your Pocket

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:49:13 +0000

I thought the massive federal bailout we had just a couple months ago was supposed to be the remedy?? Didn’t they tell us the economy would collapse without it? Now we hear that the government needs to spend even more! When does it end??

By: Jarhead

Jarhead — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:03:58 +0000

I just got done reading an article in Time about Nuclear power and while it is cheaper to produce the building of nuclear power plants is quite costly. 12-18 BILLION dollars. So not sure how feasible nuclear is going to be.

By: Kirk

Kirk — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:00:02 +0000

Curious Cat hits it on the head. The government blames the free markets for this mess. How do these “do gooders” try to fix the problem? They do it by performing the same actions that got us in this mess to begin with. We have too much debt so they increase government debt. We loaned money to people who werent’ credit worthy so they The banks made bad decisions so we give them more money and ask them to continue making these bad decisions.

The government intervening is like pouring gas on a fire. I hear these Keynesian economists talk about how we need another New Deal. Well, I think they should look at their history books. It didn’t get us out of the Depression. In fact, it made it worse. Every dollar spent by the government is one less that the private sector gets spend. The government is very poor at spending effectively and efficiently compared to the private sector.

As far as the specifics of Obama’s plan, I think half of the ideas are phooey. The federal government has no place in education. A bureaucrat sitting at a desk in DC has no understanding the educational system. Plus, a one class schoolhouse in Montana (yes, they still exist) has different needs than a school in Watts.

I think we need to get green and utilizing it in government facilities makes sense. Should have been done years ago.

Fixing roads and bridges is solid. However, it won’t result in massive jobs. It may help the 1 million construction workers out of work, but only temporarily. Plus, I smell bacon. No way will they run this program with any efficiency. Waste our money.

Bottom line: we had credit crisis’ and depression features in 1896, 1907, and 1920. In each of these crisis’, the government sat back and let the system work. Within 2 years the economy was booming again. We won’t be so lucky this time. Even if the spending helps short term, we face a dollar crisis due to our federal debt ballooning.

By: Curious Cat Investing Blog

Curious Cat Investing Blog — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:35:22 +0000

Whatever plan is adopted is likely to “work” in the sense that it will help the economy in 2009. however whether it helps the economy to a 9% unemployment rate instead of a 12% unemployment rate that we would have had without a package (or to a 11% one in stead of a 14% one or…) is unknown.

Also there is a serious problem. We have lived beyond our mens for decades. This is obvious. As an economy we have been producing much less than we have been consuming. We have taken on big debts to finance this living beyond our means.

So today we see trouble (for the overall economy) and our answer is lets charge more on the credit card (federal debt). Personal finance bloggers have seen bad results of this on a personal level. The view for the overall economy is very similar (though not exactly the same – but more similar than dis-similar).

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:11:37 +0000

Sherry: I agree 100%. I think we need to decrease our reliance on foreign oil. These low prices we are experiencing right now are great for our pocketbooks, but are misleading as they are sure to rise again. I like the idea of electric cars, but I don’t think the technology is quite where it needs to be to replace the larger vehicles, especially the semis, farm equipment, and other large vehicles that are the least fuel efficient vehicles and offer the largest area for improvement and efficiency.

Wind ans solar power cost a lot of money in initial set up, but then require little ongoing expenses (at least compared to the start up costs). I hope Obama’s initiatives lead to leaps and bounds in wind and solar technology, as well as price reductions that make them a more affordable option.

By: sherry

sherry — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:30:58 +0000

The high cost of gas this past year has seriously destroyed every budget from the average family to the largest of municipalities.The average family went broke at the pump alone, then added to the misery the higher cost of manufacturing and shipping was passed on to us at the checkout for every consumer product. School districts went broke keeping the busses on the road.One police dept in my area required officers to park their car for 15 minutes of every hour just to conserve .Lower prices are not here to stay.OPEC just announced another production cut.With all these bailouts in the billions why doesn’t our nation see the need to bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil? I just read a really interesting new book called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now by Jeff Wilson.I never realized it would only cost the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to charge and drive an electric car. Also,The electricity to charge the car could come from solar or wind generated electricity. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and suv’s instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota.What powerful resources we have been neglected. The last economic stimulus package cost 168 BILLION and did absolutely nothing to stimulate our economy or create jobs.
Bail America out of its dependence on foreign oil. Wouldn’t that make more sense?