Where are the big and ambitious ideas?

[Meldread]

Frankly, the debate over the stimulus bill is rather silly. The basic objective behind it is just one thing: spend a lot of money to try and create confidence in the economy. It won't fix the economy, and it won't create enough jobs to counter those already lost and will be lost. It just can't.

What I don't understand is why the opportunity wasn't used to rally people around a big idea, like going to the moon in a decade? I think it would have been great had they come out and said: America is going to control the future energy economy. In the next ten years America is going to be a carbon neutral nation.

Boom. Look at what the creation of NASA did - look at all the good paying jobs it created. Something like that has the potential to create at least 5x more jobs, and helps us in other areas not just our economy!

Big ideas. That is what I want to see. We're going to repair all of the nations crumbling infrastructure. We are going to reduce the burden on businesses by providing universal health care to every American.

These are things every American can get behind. At this point, we're so far in debt, we might as well try and actually get something for it and a lot of these investments can eventually pay for themselves, if not monetarily then in other ways.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against most of what is in the stimulus. I feel that a good portion of it is going to help a lot of people, but I think it should have been a separate bill calling it an "American Relief Package." People look at the current package and do not understand how it stimulates the economy, and Republicans are able to manipulate that fact. It is also hard for members of the Party to defend the package as stimulus, when in reality it is a bail out for the states who are suffering horrible budget shortfalls. (And thus, if they do not get this money, critical services will be cut.)

However, to my main point I think the stimulus would have been better served if it was cloaked in a big idea. Something that was easy to rally people too and fulfill all the necessary requirements to attempt to kick start the economy. I see it as an opportunity wasted.

[Deja Q]

1. Worse

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9127276&intsrc=hm_list

Though there might be underlying reasons I don't about... at least, on the surface, I'm not thrilled. No prospects for jobs here at home.

?

[Jackpine Radical]

2. I absolutely agree.

We don't need a stimulus package. We need a green transformation plan. Instead of just building new roads, we should be converting some of the available rights-of-way to high-speed rail, with the intention of geting rid of inefficient trucks and replacing them with energy-efficient rail freight. Likewise reducing air traffic in favor of efficient rail passenger service. We should be planning and building new wind and solar energy facilities, with new power lines that go where the new kinds of power are. We should be restoring Appalachia, putting all the miners to work reclaiming the strip-mined wastelands. And so on.

[Meldread]

5. Exactly. Every American can rally behind those things.

When you talk about those things, everyone gets it. Everyone knows that our dependence on foreign oil drives our foreign policy in the Middle East. Embracing something big and ambitious that is good for us in so many ways (health wise, environment wise, economy wise, foreign policy wise)... really... I am not sure if the opportunity will present itself again.

Of course, I am also confident that another huge plan will need to be passed. What needs to be understood though, is this current plan is a bailout for states. If we do not find a way to fix things they will be back again requiring more money. I'm not against bailing them out, because if we don't critical services will be cut. We can't afford that right now with so many people losing their jobs. I just think it would have been better if the bill was clearly marketed for what it was, and not cloaked in something as vague as 'stimulus.' This is the reason you see so many Republican Governor's bucking their Party to support the bill. They need the money, badly.

[Uzybone]

3. I think we need to get something passed in the next few days.

Grand schemes and lofty ideas would take a long time to work through the system. Obama has said this is only the beginning of what we need to do. I expect grander things to come.

[shraby]

4. A totally tanked economy is why.

Obama might have had big ideas, but fit hit the shan in the banking world and now all eyes are on how to dig ourselves out of the deepening hole. THANKS, BUSH!

[Meldread]

6. Kick

:kick:

[OwnedByFerrets]

7. Great Post...and I firmly disagree with the use of the word

stimulus. It should have been called the Jobs Bill or something sexy. The damn repugs sure know how to dandy up a bill. Take the Patriot Act.....how great a name for a piece of shit legislation. And it worked. Democrats should all be FORCED to read Thom Hartmanns "Cracking the Code".

[Meldread]

8. Totally agree.

The Democratic Party has never been good at this. Ever. Obama should have been doing what he did today right from the beginning, and while I cut him some slack because he's just become President and it takes some time to get adjusted to the role, what excuse do the congressional democrats have?

They should not assume that just because they are in the majority now, that they are invulnerable to a Republican insurgency. Things could change fast, and the Bush years quickly forgotten by most Americans. This country has ADD, and they need to be able to redouble their efforts and fight ten times harder than they did under the Bush years.

[sandnsea]

10. It's the Recovery and Reinvestment Act

They failed in not focusing on the Reinvestment Part, which is what we voted to do.

[ChoralScholar]

12. In the words of Toby Ziegler

"There's nothing Republicans do better than naming things."

[OwnedByFerrets]

22. As much as we hate their bills, they know how to get them passed.nt

[sandnsea]

9. See the Apollo Project

and look at the alternative energy projects in the Recovery and REINVESTMENT Act.

[Meldread]

11. I'm aware.

I'm aware of the alternative energy projects in the bill, and I'm glad they are in there. I am not saying the democrats in congress or the administration aren't behind the idea. I'm saying that the focus of the legislation was wrong. It's a mishmash of many different things that, at first glance, don't seem related at all to the stated purpose of the bill. This allows Republican's to twist it and call it pork.

Here is what this bill does, boiled down to its core essence: It saves jobs. This is a state bailout. Many states over the years, in order to avoid raising taxes, have cut their core safety net programs to the bone. When the economic crisis hit they were kicked in the gut, and are now suffering insane budget shortfalls. If the states don't get this money they're going to have to lay off teachers, police, cut education and medicare. We'll lose those things right as we need them the most. This package is necessary for this reason.

That is what the debate should be about, because that's the core of the bill. It might create some new jobs, but it's going to be a drop in the bucket compared to the jobs we've already lost and will lose - and we WILL lose more.

Right now, this country is in a snowball effect. For every job lost that is one less consumer to buy a product. Less consumers mean people shop less. Less shopping means the need for sales people decreases, and thus they lose their jobs. As demand for goods drops the need to produce them drops, and manufactures lose jobs. It effects everyone, no matter who you are or what income bracket you are in. This snowball will only continue to grow because it is a death spiral.

This bill does not address the core issue of the problem. It will not even put a dent into it.

No one wants to say it, but to stop the death march right over the cliff, the entire institution of banking in this country is going to have to be completely overhauled. The government is going to have to step in directly and begin lending directly, otherwise credit markets will remain frozen. After that, the housing market must be addressed. Virtually every home with a mortgage, good or bad, is going to have to be reviewed and if they are in trouble - rescued. Finally, a safety net for those who have lost their jobs must be created, giant programs to put MILLIONS to work (such as the one I outlined in my OP) will have to be instituted. For long term recovery, a strong focus on education must be made making it cheap and affordable for anyone to go to college.

Oh, and one last thing. The way government works as a whole must be reviewed. Entire agencies need to be combined, revamped or dropped completely. Bureaucracy, waste and inefficiency in our government must be cut completely. With that done, a focus on getting spending under control, and a way to begin reducing our (by then extremely insane) debt must be employed. The way we do taxes in this country may have to be completely reconfigured and streamlined.

[Baikonour]

13. Free energy will be this generation's moon-landing.

[avaistheone1]

14. Big Ideas = Single Payer Universal Health Care Coverage

It would create over $3 million new jobs. These jobs would be good paying jobs. A whole variety of jobs would be created that require skills sets at a variety of different levels. These will be permanent jobs that will not go away unlike constructing a bridge - once the bridge is built your job is done.

Every American can participate and benefit from the single payer program with the assurance they would always have quality health care available to them and never have to worry whether they or a family member could afford health services again.

Such a program would also benefit every state, every age group, and every sex.

Single payer universal health care coverage is a big idea for sure. It's a no brainer.

But is there the political will and courage to achieve big ideas?



:kick:

[MarjorieG]

15. We have short and long tem crisis; don't have luxury of big idea other than energy. Pretty big one.

[avaistheone1]

17. We certainly could do single payer health care, and energy.

Another good thing about single-payer it is something that could start immediately with a gradual rollout in phases. But it certainly could start right away. The infrastructure could be build block by block.

[girl gone mad]

16. Where's our Hoover Damn? Or moon shot?

This is also my biggest problem with the stimulus bill. There's no imagination or inspiration.

How about initiatives for high speed rail and nanotechnology? Cures for cancer and HIV?

We need to think big again. That's what made America great in the past.

[avaistheone1]

19. I think our moon shot will be raising the American standard of living to that

of the other leading democracies by having an excellent national health care program, i.e.
single-payer universal health care. It is a shame in this century we still do not have this kind of program in this county.

People should not have to go to bed at night and worry about how they would be able to access health care if they or one of their families members get sick.

The cost of private insurance has become un-affordable for companies, and impossible for individuals to manage financially. It can take as much or more than a mortgage payment to pay for health insurance out of pocket for oneself. It is another reason the middle class standard of living is falling, that the working poor are overwhelmed with debt, and that personal bankruptcies are spiraling up-wards. Our standard of living has been falling for almost thirty years. Something is wrong with a society when people can not afford basics like health insurance for themselves.

This is our time. It is our time to realize a big idea of single-payer universal health care.
I don't think our greatness lies in building a better bridge or a better space satellite anymore.
Our bigness and our greatness lies in improving the safety net and social contract with and for all Americans.

[Muttocracy]

18. I just wish they had done it in sensible chunks without the silly stuff GOP jumped on

like why not a bill for just infrastructure right away to get those in the works. Pick a project in each state or something and get those going fast. I don't understand why there has to be one huge bill all at once.

[Waiting For Everyman]

20. We couldn't do the moon race today.

The free traders would screw it up.

[chill_wind]

21. Great points. K & R. n/t

[GeorgeGist]

23. How about starving the Profit Monster?

Afterall it is devouring the economy.