Misschien wat hoop voor Amerika

[flannk]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/washi ... ml?_r=1&hp

THE NEW YORK TIMES
January 24, 2009
Washington Confident It Can Forge Recovery Plan
By PETER BAKER

WASHINGTON — President Obama and Congressional leaders from both parties pushed forward Friday with plans to pass a bipartisan economic recovery plan by mid-February, predicting that they would be able to settle their differences over the size and nature of the package.

Mr. Obama hosted House and Senate leaders from both parties at the White House to hash out elements of a roughly $825 billion program. Republicans used the opportunity to press for more expansive tax cuts and questioned some spending in the latest plan. But both sides emerged expressing confidence that they would find consensus.

“It appears that we are on target to make our President’s Day weekend,” said Mr. Obama, referring to the goal of passing the legislation by the next Congressional recess. He said that while “there are still some differences around the table,” everyone agreed “that we are experiencing an unprecedented, perhaps, economic crisis that has to be dealt with and dealt with rapidly.”

Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Speaker of the House, told reporters outside the White House that “we’re on schedule for our timetable” and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, agreed. “I do think we’ll be able to meet the president’s deadline,” he said.

The meeting, the first involving the bipartisan leadership since Mr. Obama took office Tuesday, was intended to signal quick action at a time of continuing turmoil as well as a commitment by the new president to work across party lines. For the moment, both sides appear eager to appear, at least, on the same page, recognizing the deep public anxiety about spiraling job losses, unraveling banks and sinking stock and home values.

But the harmony masked significant disagreement about the package. House Republicans presented their plan to Mr. Obama, proposing to scrap his $500 a worker tax credit in favor of cutting the lowest income tax rates, which they said would put more money in the pockets of most taxpayers. They also proposed tax breaks for small businesses, homebuyers and the unemployed.

“At the end of the day, government can’t solve this problem,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader. “The American people have to solve it. And the way they can solve it is if we allow them to keep more of the money that they earn.”

Mr. Boehner also complained that some spending in the current plans would be wasteful and not related to jump starting the economy. “How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptive?” he asked. “How does that stimulate the economy?”

Mr. McConnell said the president was “open to our suggestions” and Ms. Pelosi said some tax breaks in the House Democratic plan were put in at the suggestion of Republicans, citing specifically a job-creation tax credit for businesses.

But that comment quickly triggered a sharp response from Mr. Boehner’s office. “That is simply not true,” said his spokeswoman, Antonia Ferrier, saying that the job-creation tax credit was actually suggested by Mr. Obama, not Republicans, and has now been removed from the package.

The concern over spending centers not only on how much but how fast it can be pumped into the economy. A Congressional Budget Office analysis questioned whether the spending would course through the system quickly enough to produce the jobs that the new administration forecasts. Peter Orszag, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent a letter to Congress addressing that concern, saying his staff’s analysis of the overall package, including tax cuts, indicates that 75 percent would be spent or distributed over the next 18 months.

The president also used the session to reassure Congressional leaders and Americans that money would be used wisely, promising to impose tight controls. He criticized companies that have used federal money they received under the financial bailout for low priority or wasteful purposes and promised not to let that happen.

He cited “reports that we’ve seen over the last couple of days about companies that have received taxpayer assistance, then going out and renovating bathrooms or offices, or in other ways not managing those dollars appropriately.”

More accountability, he said, has “to be part and parcel of a reform package if we’re going to be responsible in dealing with this economic crisis.”

[FlipjeBTiel]

Keynesiaans geld spenderen werkt alleen in een productie-economie. Het idee is dat de gedane arbeid opweegt tegen de kosten van de rente van de gemaakte leningen; er is geen reden om aan te nemen dat dat voor services ook werkt. Hoop voor China, sure.

Gr., Flipje