With almost no opposition, Congress had agreed to the President’s massive rebate
program. Violating almost every principle of conservative politics, except the
one for self-preservation of their jobs, the Republicans willingly tossed around
money in a naive belief it would slow down the recession. The plan was to mint
$168 billion for the people, mostly to make them think they should be grateful
to Big Government for its concern for the “Little Guy,” even ones making up to
$174,000 a year. That $300-$600 individual rebate was also a lame disguise to
make the people overlook the $50 billion that was being distributed in the form
of tax rebates for American business, a Republican pet project. Only at the last
minute -- and only because the Democrats demanded it and agreed not to fight the
Republicans who refused to allow heating assistance for the impoverished and
extra money for the unemployed -- did the final proposal include $300 for each
of the 250,000 disabled veterans, and for each of 20 million senior citizens who
didn’t qualify.
The $168 billion “stimulus package,” had it not been spent on buying votes,
could have given every uninsured American health care for at least a year. It
could have significantly improved medical and psychiatric facilities for
veterans. It could have helped rebuild New Orleans and other cities decaying
from neglect. It could even have been the base for massive public works program
to improve the nation’s infrastructure while giving jobs to the unemployed, a
program similar to what Franklin Delano Roosevelt created to bring America out
of the Great Depression. Nevertheless, no matter what the $168 billion was used
for, it was less than one-third of what has been spent on the invasion and
occupation of Iraq.
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