Second "Stimulus" on the Way

If you thought that the first economic “stimulus” put in place by the Obama Administration was a bust, get ready for a disappointing round two. Democrats in Congress are closer than ever to passing a second stimulus in a misguided effort to spur job growth. According to the AP, “House Democrats are looking at swelling deficits further, at least temporarily, on a jobs-producing bill in response to double-digit unemployment and a sense within their ranks that the party needs to do more to put people back to work.”

The first stimulus was sold largely on the basis that it would cap unemployment at a worst case scenario rate of 8%. Proponents claimed that jobs would be created immediately, and our economy would be on the upswing by the end of the year. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, unemployment now sits at 10.2%, and jobs are nowhere to be found.

How much of your hard-earned money does the government have to waste before they realize that throwing money at a problem isn’t a viable solution?

Just look at the $700-billion financial industry bailout known as TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). Earlier this month, Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General in charge of overseeing the TARP bailout said the program “will ‘almost certainly’ result in a loss to taxpayers." According to Barosky: “We need to temper or be realistic about our expectations; a dollar-for-dollar return is just highly unrealistic. It’s almost certainly going to be a loss.” Furthermore, “Tens of billions of dollars are likely to be lost on the automotive bailout. In addition, some banks that received TARP money are failing, so the aid they received will be wiped out.”

Bloomberg also reports that Barofsky is conducting 65 investigations of possible fraud with the implementation of the TARP.

Clearly, the last thing we need is another bailout or stimulus or whatever you want to call it. We need to allow Americans to keep more of their own money, not take it away. While simplistic, it’s a tried and true method for economic revitalization and sustained prosperity.