"I think (doing) nothing would have been better,"

Economists say no to the stifle-us package:

The compromise economic stimulus plan agreed to by negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate is short on incentives to get consumers spending again and long on social goals that won't stimulate economic activity, according to a range of respected economists.

"I think (doing) nothing would have been better," said Ed Yardeni, an investment analyst who's usually an optimist, in an interview with McClatchy. He argued that the plan fails to provide the right incentives to spur spending.

"It's unfocused. That is my problem. It is a lot of money for a lot of nickel-and- dime programs. I would have rather had a lot of money for (promoting purchase of) housing and autos . . . . Most of this plan is really, I think, aimed at stabilizing the situation and helping people get through the recession, rather than getting us out of the recession. They are actually providing less short-term stimulus by cutting back, from what I understand, some of the tax credits."

In the mean-time, Democrats in Congress are doing their level best to hide what's in the bill:

Both Republicans and Democrats told CNSNews.com they were eager to read the unseen bill--once they could get get their hands on a copy of the final legislation. 

Nonetheless, members from both sides of the aisle in both the House and Senate admitted they doubted they would have adequate time to read the bill before they actually voted for it.
 
“Certainly I hope to have the opportunity to go through [the bill] before the vote takes place,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told CNSNews.com. “But that’s something I’ve found doesn’t always happen around here.”
 
Some lawmakers said one of the reasons they would not vote for the bill was because there would be no time to study it before it came up for a vote.

“The Democrats have thrown this at us very last-minute,” said Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.). “That’s why the rule of thumb in the United States Congress should be, ‘When in doubt, vote no,’ because the devil is in the details and that’s why this stimulus is not worthy of support.”

No legislation without representation.

Comments

[Locutisprime]

As my congressman reported today? This amounts to a St. Valentine's day economic massacre of our future.

I have to agree.

[Mikko]

Too bad the idiots in Congress... yes, all of them... couldn't get their egos and heads out of their a$$es long enough to pass an effective stimulus package.

What a f'in joke.

[LT]

The joke is you buying into Yardini's BS. Yes he is a bull, just ask the NYT and the WSJ. So far his resume consists of driving

Yes what he is saying is sh*t. It's economics 101 that infrastructure investment is the best stimulus, not tax cuts. The reason he wants to see people buying cars and houses is so the banks he consults for can take our money and give it to him. He doesn't really care about you, me or anyone else.

From "Oak Associates" website: "Top-down investment approach.."

In other words, they look out for the Bourgeois and not the Bohemian.

[Gramps]

There is time to look at the bill now. I suggest a daily news conference releasing one more fact about the bill they could not read before the vote. Drip, drip, drip.