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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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 OPINION 
18

Why Stimulus Gets a Bad Rap

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(Newser) – The Democrats’ $787 billion stimulus package is less popular than ever—even though it’s already working, writes David Wessel for the Wall Street Journal. The case against it is weak: Fed rate cuts hadn’t slowed the recession, already a year-old at that point, making the stimulus an appropriate move. Now the economy is improving, yet 43% of poll respondents say it was a bad idea, compared to just 27% who thought so in January.

“Marketing, it turns out, matters,” he writes. Obama wanted the bill passed quickly, so he let Congress work out the details, making it look like old-fashioned Democratic profligacy. “To the public, this is more Nancy Pelosi’s stimulus than Barack Obama’s.” Democrats also caught criticism for loading the bill with slow-acting measures, like spending on education and infrastructure—something that now seems welcome. Climbing out of this recession will be a slow process, Wessel concludes, and sustained stimulus will help.

There's no doubt that Mr. Obama and congressional allies used the stimulus as a way to pursue their spending agenda. Still, though it wasn't obvious in January, it now looks like a slow-acting federal stimulus is welcome. - David Wessel

The case that fiscal stimulus was a mistake altogether is weak. The recession was more than a year old when Mr. Obama took office, the Fed already had cut interest rates to zero and the economy was still in free fall. - David Wessel

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18 comments
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Altoecko
Aug 20, 09 10:11 AM CDT
Only a third has been spent and it's helped a ton already. I'd hate to see what shape the country would be in without it. Reply
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freethemall
Aug 20, 09 12:15 PM CDT
Exactly!
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odowd80
Aug 20, 09 10:12 AM CDT
The stimulus has only just started to take effect. The GOP gave Bush the better part of a decade (along with trillions of dollars) to make progress in Iraq, I think they need to show Obama a sliver of patience here as well. Reply
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odowd80
Aug 20, 09 10:17 AM CDT
Lets not forget that governors in red states are doing everything they can to prevent stimulus dollars from improving the economy. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/07/3-states-scolded-for-funds-unspent/ Reply
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doingtherightthing
Aug 20, 09 10:32 AM CDT
the trolls know the stimulus is working for what? You dipsticks have no clue how the economy works. Unemployment hovering around 10%. Businesses shutting down. And the deficit rising four times faster than last year..... Net result: higher inflation coming and higher interest rates coming and unemployment sitting at 10% for the future...... To cover up the scam they're printing more money which in turn devalues the dollar leading us towards bankruptcy because of the continued spending. Yeah this adminstration is doing a bang up job in killing your net worth...........another recession is on its way. its going to have "hyper inflation" which means nothing can change until they stop the spending! "Welcome back Carter" Reply
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