Plumb Bob Blog

02/03/2009 (8:57 pm)

The Truth on the Stimulus Bill

Mark Sanford was my pick for McCain’s Vice Presidential candidate, and he’s illustrating why. Just listen to what he has to say about the stimulus bill. He’s correct on every point, especially this: the first thing we need to do is take a deep breath and slow down. The entire stimulus bill is a mistake.

Clicking on the image will take you to WIS News 10 in Columbia, South Carolina. The interview is 11 minutes long.

For those who can’t play videos or can’t spare the 11 minutes, here are the main points:

Applying debt to stimulate our way out of a problem created by too much debt has never worked.
We’re close to the tipping point where the amount of debt undercuts the currency.
If no one knows what the rules are (which is what’s happening) it can freeze up private capital, which is what makes the economy go. (Newt Gingrich made this same point about entrepreneurship today, noting that the message coming out of Washington is “don’t start a business, get a nice government job.”)
Ultimately, whatever you borrow has to be paid back.
Debt outgrew GDP by 3 to 1 in the last 15 years. We will deleverage, no matter what. We can either do it quickly, or do it slowly. The stimulus is going to make the pain last longer.
Cutting payroll taxes is by far the best way to stimulate the economy. (I read today that more than half the stimulus money is going to end up in the pockets of union members. Cutting taxes is fairer.)
Nothing good comes from absolving corporate losers of the wrong decisions they’ve made.
Anytime you make decisions out of fear, you make bad decisions. Washington is making decisions out of fear.

H/T to Hot Air.

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