There’s been a lot of talk about the idea of a new economic stimulus. I freely admit that I am no expert on economics, and I like to believe that people smarter than me are making the right decisions. That said, I don’t know how I feel about the idea of another economic stimulus. First and foremost, the goverment’s got enough debt as it is – can it really be worth it to create a huge payout to the American people again? I definitely think that many people who received the stimulus didn’t need it. Sure, I enjoyed getting a $600 check, and I did end up stimulating the economy with it, but it was money I had already planned to spend (and one unplanned expense). I didn’t spend $600 more than I would have. Instead, $600 remained in my bank account.
That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy getting a $600 check. Come on, who doesn’t like free money?
I know that there are many people out there for whom the stimulus would be a blessing – people struggling to pay utility bills or make mortgage payments. And there are many families who are making ends meet but could really use some extra money for the holiday season.
But did the last stimulus really help? Isn’t it too soon to really know the full effects? Should we really be paying out another huge chunk of money?
Like I said, I’m no expert. I just don’t understand how another economic stimulus will provide long term benefits.
Thoughts?
An economic stimulus plan does not have to mean another check. In fact, I found it strange the first done did send out a check. What I believe the government is talking about now is stimulating the economy be creating jobs and investing in things such as infrastructure (long overdue). Sort of in the mentality of the “Great Society”.
I actually have to disagree with you about going further into debt. Ideally everyone wants a balanced budget, however when the economy is bad that is probably one of the worst goals for a government to have. It’s backwards from how we run our lives, but investing in projects that will create jobs and put money in people’s pockets will help stimulate our economy enough that we will be on good standing and then the government can work to reduce our debt. Does that make sense?
It’s just another example of how our country is run completely on an ad hoc basis without any possible thought to the consequences of our future actions. Somebody, someday, is going to have to pay off the debt from these stimulus checks, so it’s anything but ‘free’ money.
“will help stimulate our economy enough that we will be on good standing and then the government can work to reduce our debt.”
That’s economics 101, but where was the fiscal responsibility when our economy was chugging along nicely since the last recession ended in 2002-ish? Even when times were good in the recent past, our nation was running itself into the ground financially.