By By Gary Palmer
The so-called economic stimulus package being pushed by President Obama and the Democrat majority in Congress should be of great concern to every American. If it passes, the bill could cost anywhere from $800 billion to over $1 trillion.
To put these numbers in context, consider that in 1992, the total net federal “debt” including Social Security, was only about $3.4 trillion. If this bill passes, the federal government’s deficit for just this year will be one-half the entire federal debt of 17 years ago.
Deficit spending means the government is borrowing money which will require future taxes because eventually someone has to pay off the debt. How much in future taxes? Kevin Hassett, the director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, estimates that a $1.7 trillion deficit this year will eventually cost families with incomes between $25,000 and $30,000 about $2,500 in extra taxes. Families with incomes between $75,000 and $100,000 will have to pay $14,000 more in taxes.
Higher taxes mean families will have less money to spend on housing, food, clothing, cars, appliances and other things which drive our economy and create jobs.
Obama and the Democrat majority in Congress argue the funding for infrastructure projects in the stimulus bill will have an immediate impact: revive our economy, save existing jobs and create new ones.
The normally Democrat-friendly Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that the majority of the $350 billion for infrastructure projects won’t be spent until after 2011, including $63 billion that will be spent between 2013 and 2019.
Even more troubling, according to a Feb. 4th article in The Washington Times, the CBO released a new report stating that while the stimulus bill will help in the short term, the bill will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if Obama and Congress do nothing.
To add insult to injury, in addition to the billions of dollars in wasteful spending already cited, the Associated Press reported that the bill passed by the Democrats in the House could allow illegal immigrants to receive checks from the stimulus package along with legitimate America citizens.
Gary Palmer is president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families, which are indispensable to a prosperous society.