economic stimulus

A chief criticism of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, enacted in February, was that too large a portion went to tax cuts in lieu of spending. Critics, including some conservative economists, argued that people would simply save that money, rather than spending it to stimulate the economy.
Showing signs that they can learn from history, [...]

When Congress rushed to pass a $2 billion extension of the enormously popular “Cash for Clunkers” program earlier this month, there were few cheerleaders more quick than President Obama to extol the environmental virtues of the program.
“This gives consumers a break, reduces dangerous carbon pollution and our dependence on foreign oil, and strengthens the American [...]

Bill Kristol hears that Rasmussen Reports, the conservative pollster whose surveys have consistently shown the lowest levels of support for the stimulus, is releasing a poll (a “SHOCK POLL,” as Drudge will call it) showing a plurality of voters oppose the stimulus, by a margin of 43 percent to 37 percent.
The longer the plan sits [...]

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the third-ranking Republican in the House, sets the tone on the stimulus vote:
Under the guise of stimulus, House Democrats have brought a partisan bill to the floor … What we ought to be doing is coming together across this middle aisle, across the partisan divide—as our new President has challenged us [...]

Via Glenn Thrush, here’s Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:
Frankly, what’s developing here is his biggest problem is with his own party, the Democratic Party, which seems to be drifting away from what he said he wanted, which was for the package to include at least 40 percent tax relief and to be earmark-free.
Indeed, it’s almost [...]

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), the self-described (sort of) “freedom fighter” against the Democratic majority, is rolling out the latest of his hard-right economic bills that has no chance of success. It’s instructive reading it, though; as Brian Darling of Heritage points out, it’s not far off the leading conservative think tank’s plan.

There has been much debate on the effectiveness of the Democrats’ proposed $825 billion stimulus strategy, and today party leaders found another prominent supporter.
Mark Zandi, the head economist at Moody’s Economy.com and a seemingly omnipresent witness at Capitol Hill proceedings, released a report today indicating that the Democrats’ plan “will not reverse the current recession, [...]

It came as a welcome change of pace yesterday when President Barack Obama took the inaugural podium, looked the country in the eye and warned that surviving two wars and this dismal economy will require sacrifices from Americans that transcend trips to the mall.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is [...]

In addition to super-accurate presidential and local race polling, Rasmussen Reports traffics in polls that ask unusual questions that have been bouncing around conservative circles. In October 2008, for example, the company asked if Americans agreed with President Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address and the statement “Government is not the solution to our problem; government [...]

How’s this for a stimulus plan?
A trio of senators introduced legislation today allowing owners of gas-guzzlers to trade their vehicles in for thousands of dollars in credit on a more fuel-efficient car.