What The Heck, Maybe It Won't Work

What The Heck, Maybe It Won't Work

When a supporter of the stimulus package admits that he doesn't know if it will work--that should scare you. From the February 21, 2009 The Hill:

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) backed the $787 billion stimulus but said Saturday that he isn't sure whether it will actually fix the economy.

Rendell, at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, said Saturday that all governors are committed to making sure that the stimulus is used for measures that can boost their states out of the recession. But he said that most governors will be watching to see what kind of effect it has on the economy.

If this had been a relatively small chunk of money--say a few billion dollars, backing something that might or might not work would be acceptable. But they have caused what even the Congressional Budget Office believes will be a long-term degradation in our gross national product, through 2019--and he isn't sure if it will work?

If Republicans get control of Congress again in 2010, they shouldn't just rescind spending on the money that hasn't been spent yet--they should be investigating whether there are criminal charges appropriate for any of the players in this madness. And I would be quite interested in seeing if there is anyway to get some of the money back from non-governmental participants in this orgy of spending.