Any lingering opposition to Barack Obama â s stimulus plan melted in the face of today â s report that 2.6 million workers lost their jobs last year, 1.9 million in the last four months alone. The official unemployment rate jumped from 6.7 percent to 7.2 percent, the highest since January 1983. If we count those involuntarily working part-time or on reduced hours, 13.5 percent of American workers are in distress. So it makes sense to assume that the two-year, $775 billion stimulus package for which Obama rallied congressional and public support in yesterday â s speech at George Mason University, will become a $1 trillion package by the time it is finalized. Indeed, congressional Democrats are calling for a $1.3 billion stimulus. Trillion is the new billion as we define fiscal deviancy down, to borrow from the late scholar and senator, Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
It is also a lot of money, allowing the president and the Congress to promise something for everyone. Republicans want tax cuts? Fine, here is $150 billion for middle income and poor families, and more than $100 billion in tax breaks to encourage businesses to hire and invest. Want to help â the struggling states â cover their budget deficits without cutting their bloated spending? Here are a couple of billions for governors to dispose of. Want to rebuild â crumbling roads â , bridges, airports and build a new smart grid? Here is $300 billion for infrastructure.
