The measure of a good stimulus cannot be the arbitrary quotation of a number that is not supported by anything other than some proponent's biased opinion.
The only measure of a stimulus is what has been stimulated.
If additional unemployment is stimulated and that was the goal all along, and that appears to be the case here, then the current program is a success.
If a robust economy that is producing jobs and wealth faster than ever before is stimulated and THAT was the goal all along, and that is not the case here, then the current program is a failure.
I tend to view the current program as a failure. What is your measure of success?
Now
THAT is the stupidest thing I ever heard.
In your opinion, have the economic stimulus measures, even including unemployment insurance payments, been in sum effect a success or a failure?
This debacle, brought on by Bush policies has been the worst recession since the great one
and was accompanied by the near miss of a global meltdown of the financial systems. To be fair, Bush only continued policies originating with Reagan. Bush just put them on steroids.
Do you really expect that to be fixed in two years? Especially since we have steadily exported our manufacturing facilities, and a great deal else to the lowest bidder.
I know one thing for sure. We will not recover by giving tax cuts to mega billionaires. These tax cuts will do nothing for growth. They will swell the deficit and, in the end, bring on hyper inflation.
We have the experience of the last ten years for example. Under Bush we had two such tax cuts and a "prebate". 40% of the stimulus was tax cuts. With all these tax cuts Bush was the first president to end his term with FEWER people employed in non farm occupations than when he took office. THERE WAS NO NET GROWTH!!! Even before Bush leaves office he has brought on this great recession.
Obama follows up with a few hundred billion in tax cuts and still very little happens. How far do we have to have our nose rubbed in it to perceive what is happening?
Our problem is that we have exported perhaps a quarter of our economy. I don't think any country can withstand that.The trans national corporations have us by the ass and we refuse to recognize it. Free trade has been sold as a growth machine and it is, for the corporations. For us? Not so much.
Free trade will continue to eat away at us. Already you see the exported jobs climbing the economic ladder. Even now there is no reason to have professionals such as architechs, lawyers, all kinds of skilled technicians, and even doctors on our shore. All these can be done by cheap foreign professionals.
For centuries we managed to get along quite nicely with individual trade agreements between countries. Now we have the WTO and few realize that this treaty supercedes all of our national laws. You don't want to import generically altered food? Well screw you. We signed the WTO treaty and that's what it will be.
I don't think we will survive. We used to call countries with the kind of wealth disparity we now have "Banana Republics". Now we call it America.
We have met the enemy and they are us.