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February 06, 2009
Sell The Stimulus!
It seems that congressional Republicans (with a little help from Rush Limbaugh) have just schooled President Obama in the limits of bi-partisanship. And by extension, they’ve given him a valuable lesson in the difference between congressional and presidential leadership—one I imagine should pay dividends when it comes to health care reform. In short, no amount of tea and cookies will induce Republicans to join him in a legislative proposal that the people are not specifically demanding. And for that matter, the urgency of a national (indeed, global) economic crisis has about the same motivating power as light refreshments in a White House parlor. It may make sense for legislators to avoid embarrassing each other in front of the cameras in order to cut deals in the back room; but a president needs to exert the pressure of public opinion. They don’t call it the bully pulpit for nothing.
So I was rather glad to see the President on Thursday get a little tough, mock those who don’t understand that spending is what stimulus is all about (even my kid thought that was funny), and in a loud clear voice call for immediate action. For days I’ve been hearing FDR’s voice echoing in my head, famously demanding that the Congress “ACT NOW!” And I’ve been waiting for a similar riff from Obama to drown him out.
Now, it’s time to actually sell the package. And I think that means explaining in clear and simple terms how, exactly, stimulus spending works—how wisely targeted federal dollars multiply throughout the economy. When Republicans ferret out a few bucks of foolishness from a $900 package and hold it up as emblematic of the whole thing, he needs to beat them at their own game by focusing our attention on specific, essential projects. And especially the people they will put back to work. And before Republicans are allowed to characterize the bill as just more pork, or make the spurious claim that tax cuts have the same impact as direct spending, how about turning up the volume on a few important statistics? The bipartisan Congressional Budget Office has testified that the house version of the stimulus bill (H.R.1) will have a massive impact on economic recovery:
In CBO’s judgment, H.R. 1 would provide a substantial boost to economic activity over the next several years relative to what would occur without any legislation. With the legislation, CBO estimates, output would be between 1.3 percent and 3.6 percent higher at the end of this year, higher by a similar amount at the end of next year, and 0.5 percent to 1.4 percent higher at the end of 2011. That additional production would raise the demand for workers, turning some part-time jobs into full-time jobs and boosting the number of people employed. According to CBO’s estimates, the number of jobs would be between 0.8 million and 2.1 million higher at the end of this year, 1.2 million to 3.6 million higher at the end of next year, and 0.7 million to 2.1 million higher at the end of 2011.
And then, when the bill is finally passed and signed (as I think it will be), and it’s time to tackle health care, maybe the fight will begin in the East Room of the White House, with a president speaking boldly about the urgency—and logic—of a specific proposal, not in the well of the house with a few bomb-throwing congressmen railing about socialized medicine.
Posted by stevemack at February 6, 2009 04:01 PM
