President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid “massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters” and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama defended last year’s huge economic stimulus package, saying it helped break the economy’s free fall, but argued that more spending is urgent and unavoidable. “We must take these emergency measures,” he wrote in an appeal aimed primarily at members of his own party.
The letter comes as rising concern about the national debt is undermining congressional support for additional spending to bolster the economy. Many economists say more spending could help bring down persistently high unemployment, but with Republicans making an issue of the record deficits run up during the recession, many Democratic lawmakers are eager to turn off the stimulus tap.
“I think there is spending fatigue,” House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said recently. “It’s tough in both houses to get votes.”
The argument is: “We need to spend now, we can always be frugal later.” But somehow later never comes and the spending goes ever higher. No, this will not get better and the time for sound fiscal policy is now.
Good commentary at Powerline:
The Poster Children for Out of Control Government Spending are California and New Jersey. Why on earth would anyone support shoveling more of our hard-earned dollars into supporting those dysfunctional states. You don’t kill tumors by feeding them more, you kill them by cutting off their means of support.
The longer the tumor is fed, the bigger and more dangerous it gets: and the harder the excise of the tumor gets.
Sorry, Mr Obama…….[b]NOT ONE MORE DIME OF MY MONEY!![/b]
Barry’s only answer….print more money. Problem is, Congress has FINALLY gotten the message, and anyone who wants his/her job come November knows better than to work it his way. He doesn’t care. He knows that he’s “one and done” anyway.