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Argument: Stimulus will succeed with good management and supplemental action

Issue Report: 2009 US economic stimulus

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Matt Geraghty. “Economic Stimulus or Economic Boomerang?”. Financial Sense. January 27, 2009 – Without the proper safeguards in place, the economic stimulus package will lead to larger economic problems in the long term. If a project does not produce more benefit over time than cost, it will destroy wealth and should not be approved. An NPV analysis of each project, based on accepted bids, can help ensure success and give priority to those projects producing the most economic benefit. Then, once a project is approved, it should be measured. Detailed financial reporting and reviews are critical to success. Finally, these reports must be made public to promote transparency and accountability. This is really simple business, but something that our Government seemed to have forgotten in recent years.

Representative Eric Cantor. “Commentary: Big risk in Obama’s economic stimulus plan”. CNN.com. January 18, 2008 – In order for the public to know that money is not wasted, two things are needed. First, we need to reconcile the American people’s demands for swift action with the fact that a good bill requires time — time to hold hearings, read the bill in painstaking detail, and root out waste.

Second, Democrats have to live up to President-elect Obama’s vow for “unprecedented transparency.” The GOP welcomes and strongly encourages the president-elect’s idea to post all contents of the bill online for the American people to judge.

Lastly, any new spending must be introduced with the clear understanding that it is temporary rather than permanent. It is not always easy to terminate spending programs once they have been funded, but our bleak long-term budget outlook requires significant sacrifices over the coming years.

We trust the Democrats’ assurances that the economic stimulus will not be turned into a grab bag for favored interests. Serving as the honest and fair check on majority power, we will work to ensure they keep their word.

“Bernanke: Obama Stimulus A Good First Step”. CBS News. Jan. 13, 2009 – Plan Would Give Economy “Significant Boost,” But Broader Reponse Is Required, Fed Chair Says […] Bernanke, who didn’t weigh in on the details of the evolving package, made clear that such a recovery plan was needed as part of a broader, multi-pronged government response to combat the worst financial crisis to hit the U.S. and the global economy since the 1930s.

“The incoming administration and the Congress are currently discussing a substantial fiscal package that, if enacted, could provide a significant boost to economic activity,” Bernanke said in a speech to the London School of Economics.

“In my view, however, fiscal actions are unlikely to promote a lasting recovery unless they are accompanied by strong measures to further stabilize and strengthen the financial system,” he warned. “History demonstrates conclusively that a modern economy cannot grow if its financial system is not operating effectively.”

To help on that front, the Fed is loaning out billions to financial companies and buying mounds of companies’ debt to help bust through the debilitating credit clog. And the Treasury Department is overseeing a $700 financial bailout program that has pledged to inject $250 billion into banks in return for partial government ownership. Some money from the bailout pot also is being used to guarantee against possible losses from risky assets held by Citigroup Inc.