The Next Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Is Here. It's a $3 Trillion Spending Plan

[KenH]

That's what we've been told for 60 years. Since it hasn't actually happened, why do we cling to the notion that it will happen?

“The Great Inflation was the defining macroeconomic event of the second half of the twentieth century. Over the nearly two decades it lasted, the global monetary system established during World War II was abandoned, there were four economic recessions, two severe energy shortages, and the unprecedented peacetime implementation of wage and price controls.”

The Great Inflation | Federal Reserve History

 

[Steven Yeadon]

I am a conservative Independent, but I see and agree with the qualms on this board about throwing money at people. The Dem theory is that people should have guaranteed income monthly. I read the bible as saying people should work to eat, but those that can't due to disability or structural unemployment need to be cared for.

It sounds like the Reps need to make a sensible counteroffer. Two things that shouldn't hurt in this time are those that are genuinely needy and the defense of our nation.

Some money to Local and State will be needed, but not enough to fully bankroll them. Local and State do need funds to avoid a financial crisis. I'm not saying I agree with how many states spend their money, I don't. What I am saying is that at this point the issue is damage control. Local and State can still leverage taxes to make up the difference if they want cushy and immoral funding. There are ideas like a big increase in fuel taxes given the low cost of oil being bandied about.

I like the idea of hazard pay for all those people working in this thing instead of hunkering at home, like I am doing.

The loophole for disabled dependents above 16 or 17 not getting stimulus dollars must be fixed. Its not like 500 dollars in previous tax credit is equal to 1200 dollars in extra money for families helping out family members. The 700 dollars should be made up for those taking care of disabled people.

More money for small businesses given so many still want into PPP.

Money for mortgage payments and rent for those being foreclosed on due to recent furloughs or unemployment.

A massive increase in food stamps to payees for the foreseeable future. Food is going to make me go into debt soon unless there is better availability or lower prices, neither likely to happen any time soon.

McConnell needs to pick his battles wisely.

 

[Adonia]

The whole idea is insane.

I know, I was just being facetious.

 

[Adonia]

It sounds like the Reps need to make a sensible counteroffer.

Yep, no more insane spending. But really, there is no constitutional mandate for the Federal government to bail out everyone. I am sorry people lost their jobs, but this is not a reason that the nation should spend huge amounts of money that they will be either printing or borrowing, thus destroying the nation and the ability of future generations to prosper.

 

[carpro]

That's what we've been told for 60 years. Since it hasn't actually happened, why do we cling to the notion that it will happen?

Well then, why stop at $3 Trillion more? Lets'd just do $20 Trillion and get it over with. Divide it up among citizens and everyone can quit working for a couple of years. Shouldn't hurt a thing.

 

[Adonia]

Well then, why stop at $3 Trillion more? Lets'd just do $20 Trillion and get it over with. Divide it up among citizens and everyone can quit working for a couple of years. Shouldn't hurt a thing.

It seems our friend has never heard of the Weimar Republic which existed in Germany after WW1.

 

[carpro]

We shouldn't forget Pelosi's gift to the blue state wealthy in this bill with the repeal of SALT.

 

[InTheLight]

Well then, why stop at $3 Trillion more? Lets'd just do $20 Trillion and get it over with. Divide it up among citizens and everyone can quit working for a couple of years. Shouldn't hurt a thing.

You know that is not what I'm suggesting.

I'm simply making an observation. We've been told for 60 years that deficit spending and our debt is going to ruin us. It's dangerous. That the federal government "printing money" will lead to inflation. Well, we've had six decades of watching this activity happen and no reckoning.

Maybe this is a lie?

 

[InTheLight]

It seems our friend has never heard of the Weimar Republic which existed in Germany after WW1.

The situation in Weimar Germany is often brought up as a cautionary tale for other nations. The situation in Weimar Germany had so many variables that could never be duplicated making its comparison to any country nowadays illegitimate.

The economic situation in post WWI Germany was terrible. This was due to several factors that cannot apply to any nations current situation.

* The majority of males 18-45 had been killed in the Great War. These are the people needed to supply the manpower to revitalize their industry. The country of Germany had virtually no labor force.

* The war reparations demanded by the Versailles Treaty were onerous and required gold bullion to satisfy payment. Basically the victors stripped the money supply out of Germany. (I think Germany only recently paid up the full amount required by the treaty.)

* The country's infrastructure was destroyed by the war. Factories were in ruins. Transportation via railroads was spotty. Again, no workforce to rebuild the infrastructure.

So add it up--no workforce, no money, and no industry. OF COURSE there will be hyper inflation because there was NOTHING backing their paper currency. So when they printed money, it really was worthless.

Not so in the United States. We have a workforce. We have industry. Our infrastructure is not decimated by war. We have products we can make. We can move those products across the nation and can export these products. Our money may not be backed by gold anymore but neither is any other major nation.

 

[Yeshua1]

“McConnell has also expressed worry over the mounting levels of debt. "We now have a debt the size of our economy," McConnell said Monday. "We have to take a pause here and take a look at what we've done."

Republicans have mostly abandoned fiscal conservatism since President Donald Trump took office, but the prospect of borrowing another $3 trillion right now might get those embers burning again.”

https://reason.com/2020/05/12/the-next-coronavirus-stimulus-bill-is-here-its-a-3-trillion-spending-plan-that-bails-out-states-and-the-post-office

looking into the fine print of that new bill...
Gives to illegal aliens 1200 stimulus check, makes sure none can be deported, that they get medical coverage, looks like dems using Covid as the backdoor to socialist state!

 

[Wingman68]

The left can’t wait to fundamentally transform America. I remember when O said that just before taking office, I was like...say what?

Trump-rough around the edges, says what is on his mind, loves the country.

Obama-smooth (when on a prompter) talker, chastises citizens, thinks the country sucked, blamed us for the ills of the world so he could fundamentally change us.

The left wants to contain the Trump rallies, where thousands show up to show their love.....not just of Trump, but the country. The country that we don’t want to fundamentally change. That terrifies the left. Can’t have people shown on the media supporting that, they never honestly covered the size of the crowds, so send in the clowns, harass the attenders so they won’t be so foolish as to keep showing up........but they did. Now the ace card, covid.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking the left doesn’t love every minute of covid. The media is doing their part to stoke fear into the citizens. When citizens fear, they are easy to control. The media dutifully wears masks at pressers, but as soon as the cameras are off, they take them off. You want a link? I’ll get you some video. My mail lady was here yesterday delivering some packages. She said it’s worse than Christmas deliveries now, & people on her route are afraid to even come out to meet her to take their delivery. It is all, ALL unnecessary at this point. We did our duty, trusted that we needed to flatten the curve, & we did. The left now wants to pay you big to continue to stay home, under basic house arrest until they can steal the election through mail ballots. They make me sick. Literally.

 

[carpro]

Maybe this is a lie?

No. It's not. Even common sense tells us it's not or you would not have avoided the printing of $20 Trillion.

The only real question is, where is the tipping point?

 

[InTheLight]

The left can’t wait to fundamentally transform America. I remember when O said that just before taking office, I was like...say what?

Trump-rough around the edges, says what is on his mind, loves the country.

Obama-smooth (when on a prompter) talker, chastises citizens, thinks the country sucked, blamed us for the ills of the world so he could fundamentally change us.

The left wants to contain the Trump rallies, where thousands show up to show their love.....not just of Trump, but the country. The country that we don’t want to fundamentally change. That terrifies the left. Can’t have people shown on the media supporting that, they never honestly covered the size of the crowds, so send in the clowns, harass the attenders so they won’t be so foolish as to keep showing up........but they did. Now the ace card, covid.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking the left doesn’t love every minute of covid. The media is doing their part to stoke fear into the citizens. When citizens fear, they are easy to control. The media dutifully wears masks at pressers, but as soon as the cameras are off, they take them off. You want a link? I’ll get you some video. My mail lady was here yesterday delivering some packages. She said it’s worse than Christmas deliveries now, & people on her route are afraid to even come out to meet her to take their delivery. It is all, ALL unnecessary at this point. We did our duty, trusted that we needed to flatten the curve, & we did. The left now wants to pay you big to continue to stay home, under basic house arrest until they can steal the election through mail ballots. They make me sick. Literally.

Nice post. Not a word about stimulus money, the national debt, or deficit spending.

 

[HankD]

That's what we've been told for 60 years. Since it hasn't actually happened, why do we cling to the notion that it will happen?

2008 saw the CRASH AND BURN of many 401K PLANS

 

[Wingman68]

Nice post. Not a word about stimulus money, the national debt, or deficit spending.

How about the part where I said the left wants to pay you bigly to stay home? Or do you just like to one up people & argue?

 

[InTheLight]

2008 saw the CRASH AND BURN of many 401K PLANS

So far as I know, no one has said that government spending and "printing money" will cause 401k plans to crash. Furthermore, 401k plans didn't arrive until the mid-1980's and weren't widely popular until the 1990's.

 

[InTheLight]

...the price of food had it's biggest increase in 46 years.

Food prices are up because of spot shortages in certain commodities because of hoarding.

Double digits inflation was supposed to happen in 2010 after Obama's stimulus bill. Then in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, etc. Never happened.

U.S. Core Consumer-Price Index Fell by Most on Record in April

A key measure of U.S. consumer prices declined in April by the most on record as travel and apparel spending collapsed during the coronavirus pandemic.

The core consumer-price index, which excludes volatile food and fuel costs, fell 0.4% from the prior month after a 0.1% decrease in March, Labor Department figures showed Tuesday. That’s the biggest drop in data back to 1957. Compared with April of last year, the core CPI rose 1.4%, the smallest annual gain since 2011.

The overall CPI declined 0.8% in April from a month earlier, the most since December 2008, as gasoline prices plunged 20.6%. Annual consumer inflation slowed to 0.3%, the smallest increase since 2015.

U.S. Core Consumer-Price Index Fell by Most on Record in April

 

[HankD]

So far as I know, no one has said that government spending and "printing money" will cause 401k plans to crash. Furthermore, 401k plans didn't arrive until the mid-1980's and weren't widely popular until the 1990's.

mine did but i cashed it in on precious metals before it fizzed out completely.

 

[Steven Yeadon]

Yep, no more insane spending. But really, there is no constitutional mandate for the Federal government to bail out everyone. I am sorry people lost their jobs, but this is not a reason that the nation should spend huge amounts of money that they will be either printing or borrowing, thus destroying the nation and the ability of future generations to prosper.

I agree that money is being spent unwisely. I think the problem is how we spend the stimulus money. Tailor it to the genuinely needy and ditch the idea of bankrolling Americans not hurting. As cool as the stimulus checks were, most didnt need them. The idea behind them is bad, guaranteed minimum income. Instead, make sure a massive collapse of entire economic sectors fails to materialize and the needy who can't find jobs get the basics. The first stimulus bill just threw money at the problem with little understanding of who needed it. The Dems current plan does the same at an eye popping 3 trillion dollars.

 

[InTheLight]

Yep, no more insane spending. But really, there is no constitutional mandate for the Federal government to bail out everyone. I am sorry people lost their jobs, but this is not a reason that the nation should spend huge amounts of money that they will be either printing or borrowing, thus destroying the nation and the ability of future generations to prosper.

The government shutdown businesses. The government is the cause of the widespread unemployment. You don't think they have some responsibility to compensate these people?

We can have an debate about whether or not the measures they are taking is the best use of the money, but I clearly see the government as needing to do something to compensate people for taking away their livelihoods.