This week the stimulus package moves closer to becoming law.  As previously stated on this blog, Congress should start over.  But the attitude of Congressional leaders seems to be: “Don’t bother me with the facts!”  I’m not sure they even know what’s in the bill.  Fortunately, some members of the media have looked inside it.  And what they saw wasn’t pretty:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310466514522309.html

In business, I’ve learned the difference between spending and investment.  Spending you pay for; investment pays for itself.  But the package being considered in Congress is almost entirely spending.  Here’s how the Wall Street Journal described it:

“Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There’s another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities.  Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus.”

In short, this bill is too much spending and too little investment.

Can Congress come up with a better plan?

Yes they can.

-Randy Hill