Economic Stimulus, my Arse!
At work about a week ago a friend told me that Congress (specifically the House of Representatives) passed the economic stimulus package President Bush so desperately wants to keep our faltering economy from circling the proverbial water closet. This bothers me. It bothered me the last time Bush decided that our economy needed stimulating in the summer of 2001. Since it's common practice for people to analyze overly complicated subjects with simple platitudes, who am I to walk away from such an opportunity? My friend asked me when I reacted angrily to the news that this "stimulus" package passed the House to explain why I feel that a several hundred dollar check from the government is a bad idea. In 2001 when the Bush Administration gave individual taxpayers anywhere from $300 to $600 (depending how you file your taxes), he and the lawmakers who agreed with this plan argued that the budget surplus amassed during the Clinton Administration actually belonged to us because i...