Must Pass Stimulus Now!!!

[Rob]

So I could be wrong but in watching all the CSPAN coverage I repeatedly heard the Dems and the President talk about how this was so urgent that we were loosing thousands if not millions of jobs everyday. Matter of fact it was so urgent that we had to vote on this thing before anyone could even get a real chance to look at the final copy of the bill.....

....so it's become law now right? Nope...... with all the urgency you would have though he could have just signed it late Friday night or even Saturday morning. Wait its Valentines day got to make a trip back home to Chicago..... and the lawmakers all take off for the extended holiday weekend. The bill wont even be signed until supposedly sometime Tuesday in Colorado.

I just don't understand why if this was so important is it now waiting an additional 3 days before being signed? Couldn't we have used those days to allow lawmakers to go over the final draft of the bill so that there could be actual debate over the issue? I just don't get it.

Can anyone tell me what's going on here and I am missing?

[KarenO]

They had to have a few days to crow over the Rino converts, maybe?

[Julene Allen]

If you read the stimulus package some of the stuff is available for the tax year of 2009 so for instance taxpayers would not be able to take advantage of the credits from the Individual Tax Relief Section until they file taxes next year. The bill had to be signed. However, some credits would not be available to us until we file taxes next year. There are other funding projects in there. But three days would not make a difference. We all know this thing does not have a real effect until months or even a couple years down the line. President Obama has not had any sort of break since he moved in the White House. He has been working hours. Why do we have to be so negative as Americans. Aren't we all Americans ? And not just Democrats and Republicans? Truth be told, no party has proved to be without flaw.

[Rob]

No your right neither party is without flaw. I don't give him a break because so far he hasn't deserved one. He said that he was going to have such an ethical Administration. He even issued an Executive Order outlining some of the things that people in his Administration must follow yet he nominates and passes one person with tax problems. He nominates another two that bow out because of tax fraud problems and then has another bow out because he has other legal trouble.

He's also claimed that he wants such a transparent Administration and I forget where it was but I am about 95% sure that he had stated that he didn't want to pass any bill before it was up on the web for like 3 - 5 days for the American people to get a look at. Hell the Senators and Representatives didn't even get a chance to read the final bill. They released it at midnight the morning before the vote and both Houses of Congress had voted before 24 hours had passed.

Your right there are some things that won't take place until the end of the year or even longer out. I've never questioned that and in almost any plan you find that. Its almost necessary in any long term plan to help the economy. I just have a problem with the exorbitant amount of spending in this bill especially on special pet projects for things like a MagLev Train between LA and Las Vegas or golf carts for government use. Or money for redesigning and furnishing government offices. Yeah its money spent and its going into someones pocket but its not going to stimulate the economy. If they truly wanted bi-partisanship on this why didn't we see more consideration of the bill the Republicans wanted to put forth? Even reports from the CBO said that the Republican bill would create more jobs for less money which sounds like a much better deal to me. But it wasn't even seriously considered.

I just think that so far he hasn't started off like he promised he would. So far he has shown no change from the way things were before even under the Republicans and I don't think he will. He's just more of the same just of a more Socialist variety.

Oh and I don't really considered myself to belong to either party. There are definitely things I don't like about both and I am actually registered as an Independent.

Oh and to Karin yeah I was a bit upset that Snow, Collins, and Specter still continued to support the bill but what can you do? I would love to be a fly on the wall the next time they are in a meeting with some of the leading Republicans. I can only imagine some of the things that might have or might be said.