By Kristen Wall
College Republicans
We are in the midst of one of the largest economic collapses in the history of the United States - one that may soon rival the Great Depression. As a direct result of this collapse, 600,000 jobs are being lost each month.
To remedy this situation, President Obama pledged immediate, decisive and effective action in his recently passed $787 billion economic stimulus package. The purpose of this bill, passed by Congress last Friday, is to create jobs for unemployed Americans.
To do this, the stimulus bill increases support for new and existing infrastructure programs by funding highways, bridges, schools, health care, scientific research and a number of other programs. The idea is that this will improve American society and create jobs at the same time by funding worthwhile programs.
Inspection of Obama's plan reveals that it is merely a partisan gimmick with little chance of success.
One concern lies in the methods the Administration and Congressional Democrats used to pass the bill, which largely lacked Republican support. The 1,100-page document, scheduled to be voted on mid-morning last Friday, was released shortly before midnight the night before. As House Minority Leader John Boehner pointed out, this did not provide congress enough time to adequately read and consider what it was they were voting on.
More importantly, this late release broke a promise Obama made to the American people to release all legislation for public review at least 48 hours prior to any floor vote. If indeed this stimulus package was as good as the Administration said it was, why did they act on it so quickly and prevent a meaningful review of the bill? Although Democrats claim quick action was needed so the bill could be implemented as soon as possible, the fact that Obama still had not signed the bill into law several days after passage seems to negate this argument.
More importantly than process, however, is the exact content of the bill. In its 1,100 pages, the bill contains numerous appropriations which are not warranted. Many of the infrastructure programs it provides funding for will not begin for several years. But the point of the stimulus is to provide jobs now. If some of the projects in the stimulus are not providing jobs, then why are they in the bill?
Also, many of the appropriations in the bill, such as those for education and health care, represent dramatic changes in the very nature of these programs. But with these significant changes hidden in a 1,100 page bill, legislators do not have the ability to hold hearings and debate the warrants of each policy individually. Rather, they must vote on the stimulus bill as a package, increasing the chances that many of these program changes have not had the proper period of review.
Although America is indeed on the precipice of total economic disaster and needs a stimulus package desperately, Obama's attempt at such a package comes up woefully short. We, as Americans, deserve real change, not Obama's partisan gimmicks. This bill goes to show that the change"" and ""bipartisanship"" and ""cooperation"" Obama campaigned on is just empty rhetoric, and once the dust settles, it will become clear that it is just politics as usual.
Kristen Wall is a junior majoring in economics and political science. She is the current vice chair of the College Republicans. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
