Althouse: "Biden stimulus showers money on Americans, sharply cutting poverty in defining move of presidency."

March 6, 2021

"Biden stimulus showers money on Americans, sharply cutting poverty in defining move of presidency."

NYT headline: "To Juice the Economy, Biden Bets on the Poor/Mr. Biden’s bottom-up $1.9 trillion aid package is a sharp reversal from the tax cut bill that was President Donald J. Trump’s first big legislative victory."

119 comments:

rhhardin said...: You could cut the cost in half by distributing lottery tickets instead.; 3/6/21, 7:32 PM
Markoni said...: Most will spend it on $240 Nikes and maybe a smartphone upgrade.; 3/6/21, 7:35 PM
rehajm said...: Most if it goes to pet political projects. The money will be squandered and they'll be talking about the next round of trillion dollar spending bills by summer.; 3/6/21, 7:35 PM
Joe Smith said...: Not all tax payers are created equal...

https://twitter.com/SenToomey/status/1368079537905545216; 3/6/21, 7:36 PM
320Busdriver said...: Sharply cutting poverty???????

America is literally a joke.; 3/6/21, 7:37 PM
NCMoss said...: Showering; as if we were the dirty Irish?; 3/6/21, 7:38 PM
Ken B said...: Ah, so that’s what cuts poverty.
So, what's his excuse for not eliminating poverty entirely with millions for each?; 3/6/21, 7:45 PM
mockturtle said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/6/21, 7:46 PM
mockturtle said...: The WaPo and the NYT have no shame.; 3/6/21, 7:46 PM
Assistant Village Idiot said...: Whoa, why didn't I think of that? Just give poor people money, and they won't be poor anymore! I can't see any downside here.; 3/6/21, 7:48 PM
320Busdriver said...: Open your wallets, it’s getting more and more crowded at the border.

Stolen elections have consequences ya know.; 3/6/21, 7:49 PM
stevew said...: Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand? I'm goin' to remove all the Covid restrictions, recharge the economy organically.

Or I'm just goin' to print and spend money like it's no body's business.; 3/6/21, 7:51 PM
Rory said...: Last real money they'll ever see.; 3/6/21, 7:51 PM
Breezy said...: It’s a COVID relief bill. It’s not a poverty reduction bill. Did they notice 6.2% unemployment? WTH? A pox on all of them. Time to go offshore.; 3/6/21, 7:51 PM
tim maguire said...: The money that’s actually going to the poor will surely help, but that’s not the bulk of this bill. Of course, looking at what’s in the bill, at what it actually does, would be more work then the Times of the Post are interested in doing.; 3/6/21, 7:53 PM
pious agnostic said...: $1400 = “cutting poverty”

17M fewer recipients than before = “showering money”

Disinformation propaganda = “news”

@hale_razor; 3/6/21, 7:55 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Showers money on Americans.
Who's money is it?; 3/6/21, 7:56 PM
alanc709 said...: Joe Biden makes Jimmy Carter look good.; 3/6/21, 7:58 PM
Narr said...: Shower Down Economics, huh?

Narr
You saw it here first; 3/6/21, 7:59 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: Amazon will end up with the bulk of it. If I receive anything it will be used to pay property taxes. Not much economic stimulus there.; 3/6/21, 7:59 PM
Joe Smith said...: I doubt I'll be getting any, but I know my taxes are paying for it.

Can you say 'Redistribution of wealth?'

I knew you could.; 3/6/21, 7:59 PM
Andrew said...: Where, exactly, is all this money coming from? At what point do we run out of money from the future? How many trillions of non-existent dollars can we spend without any consequences?; 3/6/21, 8:03 PM
Joe Smith said...: "Where, exactly, is all this money coming from?"

We pay about 50% of our income in taxes (state and federal).

That money is given to people who pay either zero or almost no taxes at all.

Seems fair.; 3/6/21, 8:07 PM
Humperdink said...: Cutting poverty? After trillions spent on the war on poverty, who knew a mere $1400 would do it.; 3/6/21, 8:07 PM
Stephen said...: Last year (when someone else was President) everyone who wasn’t rich got $1,200, yet it didn’t “cut poverty.” Maybe Joe’s got the magic giving hands.; 3/6/21, 8:08 PM
Joe Smith said...: "Cutting poverty? After trillions spent on the war on poverty, who knew a mere $1400 would do it."

Sounds like reparations have already been paid...; 3/6/21, 8:10 PM
Joe Smith said...: "Reparations for the working poor who went to work while so many sat at home and ordered in..."

Huh??

LSD or 'shrooms?; 3/6/21, 8:17 PM
bagoh20 said...: If that's all it takes, then why are we still fighting the multigenerational war on poverty?

We have numerical proof that Trump's policies worked better than any previous attempts, and the reason you can believe that proof is that the media hated having to admit it, and they only would after trying very hard and unsuccessfully to debunk it. There will be no such effort to verify any claims of success over the next four years, but they will be numerous and glowing, just as Obama's, the slowest recovery in generations, was lauded as the best possible until Trump dramatically proved otherwise in short order.; 3/6/21, 8:22 PM
NYC JournoList said...: Money is not wealth.; 3/6/21, 8:29 PM
bagoh20 said...: I think the defining move of Joe's presidency is yet to come, and will be very much different and impossible to ignore, though many will wish they could.; 3/6/21, 8:29 PM
Big Mike said...: Sporadically showering money on people does not lift them out of poverty. Helping people who want to work get good jobs does lift them out of poverty.; 3/6/21, 8:32 PM
320Busdriver said...: “I think the defining move of Joe's presidency is yet to come, and will be very much different and impossible to ignore, though many will wish they could.”

That’s a Bingoh; 3/6/21, 8:33 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Real men support their wives."

If you are in the 50% tax brackets, you support a lot more people than just your wife - tens of them, if not hundreds. Some respect and thanks should be in order for the hard work and sacrifice that usually takes over a lifetime.; 3/6/21, 8:36 PM
R C Belaire said...: As a nation, we've been cutting poverty with vigor since the mid-1960s. And where has it gotten us? : Cutting poverty yet again by showering stimulus money in the 2020s. Pretty sure the outcome will be different this time...; 3/6/21, 8:41 PM
bagoh20 said...: I'm retired, AND work 60-80 hours a week. I make a shit load of money at both, and I never met my wife, though I bet she's wonderful and would love me very much. She would tell you I'm awesome, a generous lover, and one hell of a taxpayer.; 3/6/21, 8:45 PM
narciso said...: Half of it goes to leftist organization, about a quarter goes to the blue hells that botched the response the most, a little sliver goes to average people.; 3/6/21, 8:51 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: Someone around here seems rather resentful of us retired folk. Sounds to me like a lifetime of poor planning and bad decisions.; 3/6/21, 8:57 PM
Achilles said...: WaPo headline.NYT headline: "To Juice the Economy, Biden Bets on the Poor/Mr. Biden’s bottom-up $1.9 trillion aid package is a sharp reversal from the tax cut bill that was President Donald J. Trump’s first big legislative victory."

The WaPo is the dumbest paper for the dumbest readers.

It is just dumb.

Bezos is going to be remembered poorly by history for a variety of reasons including this one.; 3/6/21, 8:57 PM
narciso said...: You mispelled corrupt

https://mobile.twitter.com/loganclarkhall/status/1368372799354662912; 3/6/21, 9:02 PM
FullMoon said...: $1400 = “cutting poverty”

That is less than 3 weeks work at minimum wage here.; 3/6/21, 9:06 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "Just be grateful and acknowledge yourself in the needy/non-dominant position in life that you now inhabit. We will protect you, and your wives.

Just pay your taxes and understand the criticisms of your lifestyles and who is supporting you now... It's the working workers. Thank them."

I'm 58 years old, in excellent physical shape for my age, skilled at many handy-work trades, and can defend myself quite well as long as we have a 2nd A. I've paid my taxes and I tip very well. My entire career was spent with the people you describe as the "working workers," I am fucking one of them.; 3/6/21, 9:12 PM
Leora said...: About $500 billion in payments to people making less than $75,000 per capita including prisoners and illegal immigrants. Token amounts for unemployment supplement and rental and foreclosure relief. About a billion for vaccine and ppe distribution. The rest to bail out mismanaged cities, states and school districts and for leftist boondoggle projects. My husband and I get $2,400 now and pay $10,000 in higher taxes later- forced to act like the folks who buy furniture or vacation trips on time payments except we've got to cover some other family that doesn't pay any taxes. Nothing in there to build anything useful and nothing targeted to help people who actually need support.; 3/6/21, 9:14 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "I am fucking one of them."

I could have phrased that better...; 3/6/21, 9:16 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: The economy doesn't need "juicing." The unemployment rate is only 6.2%. What's needed is for the Democrat governors to get off their fat butts and open up their states. All business are essential and all should be operating at least 50% capacity. Giving $1,400 dollars to almost everyone is not going to reduce poverty, only honest work can do that.

Democrats are goosing the money supply. You can see signs of inflation in the 10-year treasury bond rate; it's gone from about 0.6% (last August) to 1.55% this week. Thirty-year mortgages track with this rate and they've gone up as well. All that this $2T in spending is going to do is cause inflation and pump up debt payments in the Federal budget.; 3/6/21, 9:17 PM
bagoh20 said...: I know people with well-paid skills who have refused to go to work for a year now because the money keeps coming. They will go looking as soon as it stops. We all benefit from people working, and we all lose ground when they don't. The government needs to stop spoiling the nation. A people without drive are sitting ducks in history; 3/6/21, 9:23 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "Protection" means who is paying to put a roof over your granny? Who is paying to pull your pre-school age kid out of bed and bring him to an institution for paid (govt subsidized) care?

If I'm paying for your family to use those programs that you allegedly can afford, then yes, I am protecting you and yours. Just thank me is all, fellas."

I'll make this simple for you. You're not doing a fucking thing for me, my parents, or my children.; 3/6/21, 9:23 PM
I'm Not Sure said...: "Protection" means who is paying to put a roof over your granny? Who is paying to pull your pre-school age kid out of bed and bring him to an institution for paid (govt subsidized) care?

I'm guessing a 58 year old doesn't have any living grandparents or any pre-school kids. But aside from that...; 3/6/21, 9:26 PM
GingerBeer said...: Punishing work and incentivizing dependency.; 3/6/21, 9:30 PM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: An unemployment rate of 6.2% does not require $2T in so-called stimulus money. That is a low rate compared to what it was in 2008/2009 or ca 1982. Getting the government off the necks of small business and stopping governments from raising taxes to feed their insatiable greed is the best way to get the economy to recover. Government is the problem, not the solution.; 3/6/21, 9:31 PM
wildswan said...: Money's nice, but who among us really thinks we're getting something for nothing? Who among us runs up debt to stimulate our budget? The better stimulus would have been to reopen the country. Consider that Medicare is going to run out in 2026. I'd prefer that that were fixed. I see them rationing health care in my immediate future and explaining that I had that last stimulus check and that broke the budget.; 3/6/21, 9:35 PM
Iman said...: Democracy Dies in Default; 3/6/21, 9:36 PM
unknown said...: Sharply cutting poverty? How? $1400 is nothing.

Not just cutting poverty, but cutting it sharply?; 3/6/21, 9:38 PM
NYC JournoList said...: How many vaccine factories could $1.9 trillion buy?; 3/6/21, 9:39 PM
Joe Smith said...: "I am fucking one of them."

Anyone who has gotten up, commuted to a job (any job), put in their time, and slogged home (in my case about 2-3 hours round trip depending on traffic) is a 'worker.'

Whether you work in an office or dig ditches, you're a worker.

Very few people live on inherited wealth.

Smart people make good decisions like staying married and not using drugs.

That's how you save enough money for retirement. It isn't a secret.

But by complaining about people like me, liberals are admitting that they are not smart enough, talented enough, or disciplined enough to do it themselves.; 3/6/21, 9:42 PM
gilbar said...: hey? i KNOW we're not supposed to poke the trolls, but could some puddinghead,
EXPLAIN to me, how:
a) a single check, for 1400$ can "Cut Poverty" ?
b) tell me, WHY we'd need/want/could/should raise the 'minimum wage' to Over 30,000 dollars a year?

i mean:
One Thing WE KNOW FOR SURE, is that Jo Biden is THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED;
and if Jo Biden spending two TRILLION dollars to 'cut poverty' takes care of it...
Why the F*ck, would we need to increase unemployment by Raising the minimum wage?

ps. I know, you like it; when people put the dollar sign After the number, so i did that for you!
you're Welcome!; 3/6/21, 9:48 PM
Joe Smith said...: "If you are in the 50% tax brackets, you support a lot more people than just your wife..."

That is state and federal.; 3/6/21, 9:49 PM
gilbar said...: "I am fucking one of them."

I USED to be, but then she got Sick and Tire of hearing me go on and on about fly fishing; 3/6/21, 9:52 PM
Joe Smith said...: Enjoy every day as if it's your last.; 3/6/21, 9:58 PM
narciso said...: Different frequency, but its not helpful to insult our host, i consider this a socratic exercise.; 3/6/21, 9:58 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "Smart people make good decisions like staying married and not using drugs."

There are other rules that contribute to success. Here's my favorite: Don't replace anything that still works. This includes cars, appliances, clothes etc. I've had 4 cars in my adult life, the one I have now is 15 years old with 170K miles, but everything on it still works, and I only drive it 20 miles a week now. It might be the last car I ever own. I catch unending hell for still driving it. But $50,000 in appreciating assets (stocks/bonds) beats $50,000 in a depreciating asset.; 3/6/21, 10:02 PM
Tomcc said...: “Sharply cutting poverty”
I certainly hope it was a weekend intern that wrote that.
We are totally screwed if this represents our “press”, it’s not even propaganda as much as it is fantasy!; 3/6/21, 10:05 PM
Josephbleau said...: The largest effect of making these payments is probably to spike the price of street drugs. It’s long term effect is to bring closer the day when the government will have to reduce payments to the real needy, the widows and orphans. Giving everyone who makes less than 100G 1000 dollars is a stupid way to alleviate poverty.; 3/6/21, 10:05 PM
GMay said...: "But 6.2 is not low unemployment, no matter your comparables."

Says who?

The Fed considers 5-5.2% to be full employment, so one percentage point above that is "low unemployment" by definition. The OECD considers up to 6.4% to be full employment.; 3/6/21, 10:15 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: So we have another genius nurse here. Imagine my surprise.; 3/6/21, 10:24 PM
Inga said...: “So we have another genius nurse here. Imagine my surprise.”

She’s an attorney, genius.; 3/6/21, 10:41 PM
Jamie said...: They're not even trying anymore, are they?; 3/6/21, 10:42 PM
Rt41Rebel said...: "She’s an attorney, genius."

Gotcha. She just trolls as a nurse.; 3/6/21, 10:43 PM
Paul Zrimsek said...: Ordinarily any golden showers that are coming down from the government don't get counted as income when figuring the poverty rate. That would make it look too low and there wouldn't be a pretext for spending even more.; 3/6/21, 10:45 PM
Original Mike said...: There's going to be a lot to clean up in the morning.; 3/6/21, 10:46 PM
Inga said...: Hey OM did you get your shot on Thursday?; 3/6/21, 10:47 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: I am set. I am not going to pay for it.

Good luck to your children and grandchildren. They probably think it is a good idea, the little nitwits.; 3/6/21, 10:47 PM
Big Mike said...: Arguments over who defines full employment as what per cent are specious. Trump got it down to 3.6%. Anything above 4% is failure.; 3/6/21, 10:50 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: Come on, man.

They have been saying since the 1960s that they just need MOAR. Now they are getting it.

What could go wrong?; 3/6/21, 10:51 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: Everybody likes a handout.; 3/6/21, 10:59 PM
narciso said...: Its a one time subsistence wage for people who have been impoverished by govt policies, its something but nearly nothing.; 3/6/21, 11:02 PM
GMay said...: "You don't know the name of even one worker at the OECD.

That's funny. You don't see it, do you?

Look, you got one little data point wrong. Take the L and move on.; 3/6/21, 11:22 PM
Yancey Ward said...: A one time package of this size does absolutely nothing about poverty. It is a spit into an ocean, and the thing is this- it can't be repeated next year or the year after that, not without destroying the monetary value of the dollar in a rapid fashion.

I will do with the new 1400 what I have done with the previous 1800 dollars of stimulus- give it to my youngest sister and her husband who, while both still working, are definitely worse off financially than I, my mother, or either of my other two sisters.

The headline is just mindless propaganda- I would mock it if it were still Trump as president with the exact same kind of bill, but, of course, the papers wouldn't describe it that way- it would suddenly be an irresponsible increase in the deficit and the debt, which is actually is for the most part. The only good things about the bill are the monies being sent to the lower income people and the unwillingly unemployed. The rest of it is waste, especially the money being sent to the cities and states.; 3/7/21, 12:12 AM
Lawrence Person said...: It's not a coronavirus bill.

It's not a relief bill.

It's a "shove a trillion dollars of taxpayer-funded pork into the trough of Democratic Party special interests as quickly as possible" bill.

And don't you forget it.; 3/7/21, 12:33 AM
Joe Smith said...: "A one time package of this size does absolutely nothing about poverty. It is a spit into an ocean, and the thing is this- it can't be repeated next year or the year after that, not without destroying the monetary value of the dollar in a rapid fashion."

Maybe that's a feature and not a bug.

Communism depends on putting everyone on the dole.; 3/7/21, 1:05 AM
Kai Akker said...: ---Everybody likes a handout. [Amadeus48]

Now. After a century of Marxist experimentation. But 125, 145 years ago, a handout was looked upon with horror. Any reading from those pre-WWI times will eventually encounter the firm, unquestioned attitude that charity was an insult to a man's self-respect and self-reliance. The national character really has changed in this regard.; 3/7/21, 4:50 AM
DeepRunner said...: One-time payment vs. ongoing tax cuts? yep, that's a bet I'd make. /sarc

St. Joe will always get the benefit of the MSM doubt. Especially when compared to Don the Demon.; 3/7/21, 5:14 AM
320Busdriver said...: How much printer paper in this monstrosity is going to gender reassignment in foreign lands. I don’t mind helping those who need it here, not that most will miss its target anyway, but I’m sure there’s a huge amount of BS $ about to go overseas. That is unacceptable. PERIOD.; 3/7/21, 6:07 AM
PB said...: on to the $10 trillion green new deal!; 3/7/21, 6:09 AM
stlcdr said...: “Chocolate rations will increase...”

Good news!; 3/7/21, 6:19 AM
wendybar said...: I can't wait until the taxes have to be paid to pay off this reward to the left wing Democrat cities that were burned down by Antifa and BLM. I hope they enjoy their one time payment of $1400. while millions go overseas...and millions more go into the pockets of the lobbyists who wrote the 900 page bill that isn't a Covid bill, it is a Biden Bill full of pork for the Democrats.; 3/7/21, 6:22 AM
h said...: Yancey Ward is on the right track. I doubt if the authors of the WaPo piece understand how poverty is measured. You can find a short description on the Census Bureau website. If (as some economists believe) the big deficits will set up very high inflation, the poverty level could increase substantially, and the number of people under that level could increase. An interesting bet: will the poverty rate in 2022 (or 2023, but a year in which Covid is past, and Biden/Dem policies have had an impact) be lower than or higher than the poverty rate in 2019 (Trump's last non-Covid year)?; 3/7/21, 6:22 AM
wendybar said...: I wonder how much the relief bill will cost us NEXT YEAR. Because this is a yearly thing now since they don't do their jobs, and have NO CLUE on how to balance a budget anymore???; 3/7/21, 6:23 AM
wendybar said...: Branson Taylor
@Btaylor74
Now you know why the fuck nut fact check @GlennKesslerWP rushes to defend Biden every time he lies

WaPo is trying to make North Korean state media blush; 3/7/21, 6:32 AM
wendybar said...: How many people will die waiting for the House to vote on this Tuesday??
Matt Whitlock
@mattdizwhitlock
According to friends at WaPo, @SenRonJohnson asking for the bill to be read (all in one evening) potentially caused the death of 1,400 people.

The House taking a long weekend and waiting to move the bill until next Tuesday? Silence.; 3/7/21, 6:45 AM
320Busdriver said...: For Gods sake the only thing that might eject power hungry clingons like Pelosi and get us back to a balanced budget is a Convention of States.; 3/7/21, 6:46 AM
wendybar said...: The Babylon Bee
@TheBabylonBee
Gang Of Masked Bandits Steals Another Few Trillion From Your Grandchildren; 3/7/21, 6:50 AM
unknown said...: This just makes me wish they would bribe us with our own money. Instead they’re taking our money and “showering” it on their pet projects and bankrupt states, while tossing a $1400 bone at poor people and hyping it as a “bottom-up” stimulus.; 3/7/21, 7:00 AM
wendybar said...: I'm so happy the Democrats voted down the Hyde amendment language that was added to their Porkulus bill!! Now we all get to fund their Genocide!! Yay!! So much for saving lives...lets kill millions in the process!!! YAY!!!; 3/7/21, 7:27 AM
Fernandinande said...: Its a one time subsistence wage for people who have been impoverished by govt policies,

I know a 25 year old guy who bums off his grandma and has never worked a paying job, and now he gets unemployment payments.; 3/7/21, 7:55 AM
Amadeus 48 said...: The Illinois constitution--like that of many states--requires a balanced budget. You can see how that has worked. Here, we "balance" the budget by borrowing.; 3/7/21, 8:01 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: WaPo - propaganda arm for the corruptocratiic party; 3/7/21, 8:06 AM
Tommy Duncan said...: I remember when borrowing money to buy a home made you middle class. How did that work out?

Now we find out that $1,400 is enough to lift you out of poverty. No work is involved, the money is free and the results are permanent.

This government thing is really amazing. Is there anything more government can't do?; 3/7/21, 8:06 AM
Sam L. said...: Both stories are male bovine excrements.; 3/7/21, 8:07 AM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Showering hard working tax payer money on people who were forced out of work due to the CHI COM-Democrat Party vote-cheat-scheme virus.

Potemkin WaPo showers praise on Potemkin President...

Here hoping Biden and his team can turn America into a Potemkin Village. It takes a village.; 3/7/21, 8:12 AM
Matt Sablan said...: Wait, has something changed since Omar admitted that the Democrats were given out less money than Trump did?; 3/7/21, 8:23 AM
William50 said...: "....they’re taking our money..." actually they're not taking anyone's money for this. They're just printing it.; 3/7/21, 8:44 AM
Chick said...: My billable hours have been cut in half. Attributable to the weakening economy I am told. The stimulus money is malarkey.; 3/7/21, 8:57 AM
RigelDog said...: Rt41Rebel said: "There are other rules that contribute to success. Here's my favorite: Don't replace anything that still works. This includes cars, appliances, clothes etc. I've had 4 cars in my adult life,..."

I agree---frugality can put a lot of money in your pocket. Been listening to some Dave Ramsay lately and it's amazing how many people call him who have big-time debt relating to newer vehicles they've bought. Trucks are a common problem---caller will say that they've got 70K in debt between their two vehicles and Dave will say, "You bought a truck, didn't you?" Caller sheepishly admits this is the case.

I'm torn about the idea of keeping cars for a very long time though. We did that with our last cars, which were 14 years old and over 150K miles (a Honda CRV and a Honda Pilot), and that period of time hit a sweet spot where the 2006 model year had good safety features (like front and side airbags) that carried us through until recently.

Then the 2006 Pilot needed some major repairs and I upgraded to a lightly-used 2018 Pilot. Now I have a backup camera, lane assist, blind-spot warning etc, along with bigger tires and some nice bells and whistles like Bluetooth. Those safety features are REALLY a big improvement and we think they are only going to become more necessary as we get older.

So it may be that significant technological advances justify laying out money for a more recent model.; 3/7/21, 9:03 AM
Rusty said...: Achilles said,
"The WaPo is the dumbest paper for the dumbest readers."
Whaddaya mean? It's the best high school newspaper in the country!; 3/7/21, 9:25 AM
Leland said...: We will ignore that before the election, the amount was $2000 and now it is only $1600. Delaying aid to Ukraine is an impeachable offense, but delaying aid and cutting said aid is just normal politics when you vote Democrat. Defining move of the Presidency, indeed!; 3/7/21, 9:26 AM
Paul said...: I remember seeing a Johnson war on poverty cartoon showing ghettos before and after... ghettos didn't change.... just trillions down the rat hole.

So Biden is a 'hero' for $2000 bucks? What a joke. It is still just money down the rat hole.

You see, there is no 'national treasury'. It is not backed by GOLD nor SILVER nor anything but paper.

Hence they print paper and give it away. It has what value people 'think' it has. Once they get scared and realize it's a sham... Lord help us!; 3/7/21, 9:39 AM
Oso Negro said...: It seems impossible to simply keep printing money ad infinitum. But perhaps the genius of contemporary government is that they have discovered a source of eternal wealth unknown to all peoples and governments that came before. It's hard to say now, whether smug ants with 401ks and investment portfolios will be weeping and gnashing their mandibles with the equally impoverished grasshoppers when the bill comes due. I would advise no one to quit a job or give up a profitable business who has one at present.; 3/7/21, 9:47 AM
Michael K said...: I'm torn about the idea of keeping cars for a very long time though. We did that with our last cars, which were 14 years old and over 150K miles (a Honda CRV and a Honda Pilot), and that period of time hit a sweet spot where the 2006 model year had good safety features (like front and side airbags) that carried us through until recently.

Ours are a 2013 Pilot and a 2012 CRV. And no, we are not replacing them as we drive less now.; 3/7/21, 10:08 AM
daskol said...: A golden shower.

Reminds me of my favorite expression: don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining.; 3/7/21, 10:20 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: “Sharply cutting poverty???????”

“It's a "shove a trillion dollars of taxpayer-funded pork into the trough of Democratic Party special interests as quickly as possible" bill. “

This is Porkulous II. Same players- written by Nancy Palsi and minions to enrich them and their cronies.

Last time around, twelve years ago, she gave away the game. All the Dems were predicting insane Keynesian multipliers, with Palsi one of the most egregious, claiming that every dollar spent by the federal government would add $4-$5 to the economy, so it didn’t really matter what they spent it on, just that it was spent, so giving a lot of it to their cronies was just fine, since it was growing the economy, regardless. Yes, the same Nancy Palsi who rammed this through the House this time too.

The problem is that what she was basing her claims on is Keynesian Economics, which was supposedly why our Great Depression didn’t get as bad as it could have. It has been the centerpiece of Dem party economics ever since then- for most of a century now, since it allows them to justify skimming large quantities of graft from the economy. Except that Keynesian Economics was empirically debunked and discredited by the mid 1970s. It has never worked to grow the economy, and the real Keynesian multiplier is less than one - government spending, instead of spurring the economy, is a drag on it, as resources are misallocated from economic endeavors to less economic ones, basing allocation on political power, instead of supply and demand. Hence such economic driving projects as Cash for Clunkers, and Palsi’s and Feinstein’s Train from Nowhere to Nowhere.; 3/7/21, 10:33 AM
RobinGoodfellow said...: “Biden stimulus showers money on Americans, sharply cutting poverty in defining move of presidency.”

False.

The government can not cut poverty by spending money. All it can do is get out of the way so entrepreneurs can create jobs.; 3/7/21, 10:40 AM
stevew said...: The ass kissing and boot licking is embarrassing. You want to help the poor? Let America go back to work.; 3/7/21, 1:35 PM
Jim at said...: Printing money cuts poverty.
Allowing people to keep more of their own does not.

Only in Leftist Land.; 3/7/21, 1:54 PM
n.n said...: Refundable tax credits and public smoothing functions. Hold the redistributive change.; 3/7/21, 2:09 PM
Michael K said...: Except that Keynesian Economics was empirically debunked and discredited by the mid 1970s. It has never worked to grow the economy, and the real Keynesian multiplier is less than one - government spending, instead of spurring the economy, is a drag on it, as resources are misallocated from economic endeavors to less economic ones, basing allocation on political power, instead of supply and demand. Hence such economic driving projects as Cash for Clunkers, and Palsi’s and Feinstein’s Train from Nowhere to Nowhere.

Poor Keynes was angry at the Versailles treaty (not wrong) but his economics was designed to smooth out the business cycle. He wrote that we should run surpluses in prosperous times and deficits in economic recessions.

Politicians got half the message. When did we last run a surplus ? Clinton is a wrong answer because the GOP Congress raided the Social Security "trust fund" to "balance the budget." Never happened.; 3/7/21, 3:15 PM
Skippy Tisdale said...: If all 330,000,000 Americans get a $1,400 check (they won't) that's a total of $46.2B, which begs the question, Where is the remaining $1.86T going?; 3/7/21, 3:47 PM
Michael K said...: Where is the remaining $1.86T going?

Democrat cities and states. It will, among other things, bail out insolvent state pension plans. Among them CA and IL. Since I have two relatives in those two states both of whom have government pensions, maybe I should not complain. Their grandkids will pay the bill.; 3/7/21, 4:07 PM
Robert Cook said...: "If all 330,000,000 Americans get a $1,400 check (they won't) that's a total of $46.2B, which begs (sic) the question, Where is the remaining $1.86T going?"

Which raises the question.; 3/7/21, 4:57 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I know a 25 year old guy who bums off his grandma and has never worked a paying job, and now he gets unemployment payments."

If he has actually never worked and if he is actually getting unemployment payments, as opposed to some other form of welfare, he has committed fraud, probably with the aid of a confederate at the unemployment agency. Hey, big corporations and financial institutions get away with financial fraud all the time; no surprise individuals will try it.; 3/7/21, 5:02 PM