Comments on: CE Week #2: “Bailout Plan: $2.5 Trillion and a Strong U.S. Hand”

By: Makayla Sander

Makayla Sander — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:14:06 +0000

In response to Kellie: I agree. I think that this stimulus plan thing is all very confusing and it seems like no matter what if there is a stimulus plan passed it will just be a matter of luck if it works or not. I completely understand the fear and rational that since President Bush’s stimulus plan did not work it is very possible that this one is not going to work either. The part about this whole economic crisis that always gets me is that although everyone is always freaking out about the lack of money, there is no actual physical money at stake. It is all just numbers in computers and stuff. You would think that since there isn’t really any real hard money anyways, the government and banks could just wait this thing out until the economy picks up again. It is just all very confusing. I wonder what the world would be like if everyone could only use the money that they actually possessed instead of living their lives on credit. People wouldn’t be able to live so extravagantly, they would have to only spend as much money as they made, but I bet you there would not be a crisis this bad because no one would be in debt, and no one would be having their house foreclosed upon because they wouldn’t be living outside of their means. That is the real reason for this crisis, and it should be up to the people who caused it, that is, the American public, to fix it by stop being irresponsible with their finances instead of waiting around for the government to do it for them.

By: Hillary Susz

Hillary Susz — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:38:43 +0000

In response to Annika,

I share the same concerns as you. I think this stimulus package is drastic and rushed and scary…probably a pretty accurate metaphor for America’s current idealism and emotional economics. And I completely agree; 2.5 trillion is way too much to go unprotected, or be spent unwisely.

However, the science of economics is one that is full of theories and free of facts. I feel like there are 1,000 different economic opinions, and they are all right, and they are all wrong. Who’s to say that this stimulus package won’t work? Who’s to say that it will? No one can predict the future, and it seems like this economic situation isn’t all that similar to anything our nation has experienced in the past. There are so many sources contributing to this crisis- oil, housing market, banks, stock market, credit, consumer attitudes- and it’ really difficult/impossible to control and fix all, or even one, of these sources.

Also, this economic failure is just painfully real. Local and corporate businesses are closing everywhere. I can think of 15 adults, with established careers, that have lost their jobs. The U.S. government, mostly the democrats, feels obligated to act somehow, help in whatever possible. And this, 2.5 trillion, is what they are doing. It may seem drastic, that’s only because it is. This may seem scary, that’s only because it is. But what are we, what are our politicians to do, but whatever they can? And I truly believe that our government is doing everything it can. There are no absolutes, everything is at risk, and support is essential. So, my main point, even though it’s a really difficult one, is faith. Everyone is nervous and fearful…the worst thing we can do is let those emotions consume us. Have faith that things will eventually be okay.

By: Ashley Rowe

Ashley Rowe — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:02:31 +0000

In response to Kellie Hensley,

I don’t agree with your comments, because you said that they government should wait until the spring or summer to act on the existing crisis that we are facing with the economy. I think that it would be ridiculous to wait until then to act, because I don’t think that the economy is going to fix itself. If we wait, the economy will inevitably become worse and then the government may not be able to fix the problems. This problem started with the Bush Administration and now Obama has to face the same problems. Obama is trying to fix this problem, but it will take time. It can’t be fixed overnight or even in four years. If we have any hope of getting out of this recession then we must act immediately. Waiting will only cause more problems, because the situation can get out of hand fast. This is how we got into this problem in the first place, because Bush wasn’t watching what was happening with the different markets and he waited to act. Look where we are today.

The best thing that Obama could do is act immediately, and this might mean not giving banks and other industries big bailouts. Obama needs to give the American people at least $20,000 dollars to pay off existing debt and then they might have enough to spend on something they want. This would help jump start the economy. Doing nothing will only cause more problems in the long run.

By: Annika LaVoie

Annika LaVoie — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 05:32:07 +0000

Well, I just had to read the title of this article and I just about choked…2.5 trillion! That’s just disgusting! And the most disgusting part of it is we don’t even know if we have a “concrete plan” to go along with this 2.5 trillion. Ouch. As I continued to read, my long ago fears that all of this “hope” and “change” Obama was talking about would just be preconceived nice sounding ideas started to again rise up to the surface. Will Obama hold true to his plans or actually does he even have a plan to start with? Also the idea that Congress would just start printing more money really gave me the goose bumps. It brought back all of the lessons learned in US History about the depression and how money was useless and how as the printing machines cranked out more bills everything became more expensive and a loaf of bread cost something outrageous like 70 bucks or something. Does Obama really think this will help our failing economy? Furthermore I was confused on what “bad banks” are and what they had to do with the central part of this stimulus plan. At least come up with a more attractive name than “bad banks” and fool your voters with a name like “amazing life-saving economy changing…(shoot what’s our main idea again?) banks.” Additionally, how can Obama say “well our banks need to be more transparent and show how many loans they’re giving out” when he can’t even give us a straighforward bailout plan? All I can say is that I sure as heck hope Obama and the treasury department at least have some notion on what they’re going to do with 2.5 trillion!
Connection: We just learned that one of the pit falls of bureaucracies and the regulations they attempt to pass is the lack of clarity in their policies. It’s sure easy to pass on the dirty work to someone else, isn’t it?

By: Kellie Hensley

Kellie Hensley — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:24:06 +0000

I really don’t know if I think another stimulus package is what we need right now. A part of me thinks we should just wait until spring/summer and if the problem hasn’t started to correct itself by then, maybe institute another deal. But for now, I have to agree with the pessimistic side of this. Bush’s bailout plan didn’t really go so well, and what if the same thing happens again? Obama said it himself, this isn’t going to be an easy accomplishment… What if we get ourselves into a bigger mess than before? Then what are we going to do. Mr. Geithner said we have to try new things and take risks.. but what if those risks leave millions unemployed and mess up the economy for good? In the beginning of the article it says that the Bush administration didn’t act fast enough going into the crisis to stop it (it seems like he is getting the “too slow” remark alot lately) well what could he have done? Another stimulus package seems to be Obama’s answer, but didn’t Bush already try this? I guess I am just confused as to why he is going to do this again when it clearly didn’t really work the first time?

Connection: Bush Administration. He already tried this plan and it didn’t work. Granted it was less money and maybe a less organized plan, but still. And the Wall Street-Main Street debate. Which one would benefit most from a stimulus package?