Posted: 2/10/2009 7:32:53 AM EDT
In a few months stimulus proposals went from the relatively modest to the now staggering numbers today.
The Ever Expanding Stimulus [Mark Hemingway] Senate Republicans are sending out the following release noting how since September the stimulus has grown from $56 billion to the current $800+ billion: As The $827 Billion Spending Bill Continues To Grow, Taxpayers Remember When It Was A Much Smaller Proposal $56 BILLION POLITICO: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) today announced a $56.2 billion stimulus package.” (“Second stimulus announced,” Politico, 09/25/08) $61 BILLION CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY: “The House Friday passed a $60.8 billion economic stimulus package designed to pump money into infrastructure projects, unemployment insurance and Medicaid, but a similar measure failed to advance in the Senate.” (“House Passes Stimulus Measure; Senate Proposal Fails,” CQ, 09/26/08) $100 BILLION MCCLATCHY: “Washington is poised during the next 90 days to approve spending perhaps $100 billion to jolt the ailing economy.” (“Can a $100 billion stimulus save a $14 trillion economy?,” McClatchy, 11/09/08) $150 BILLION DENVER POST: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for a new $150 billion economic-stimulus package today and suggested Congress may need to act this year.” (“Pelosi: New stimulus package needed,” Denver Post, 10/08/08) $200 BILLION WASHINGTON TIMES: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Wednesday to hold a lame-duck session to pass a $200 billion economic-stimulus package likely to include rebates to middle-class taxpayers, despite recent failure to enact less ambitious plans and Republican charges it is a ‘spending hike to exploit the nation's economic troubles.’” (“ Lame-duck session eyed to OK stimulus,” Washington Times, 10/16/08) $300 BILLION WASHINGTON POST: “With fears rising that the nation stands on the precipice of a prolonged recession, House Democrats are contemplating a huge infusion of public cash — as much as $300 billion — to stoke economic growth by creating public jobs and padding the wallets of struggling consumers.” (“House Democrats Consider Large, New Economic Stimulus Package,” Washington Post, 10/14/08) $400 BILLION THE NEW YORK TIMES: “The programs will be a part of a larger economic stimulus package whose outlines are faint but which is expected to cost $400 billion to $500 billion.” (“Proposal Ties Economic Stimulus to Energy Plan,” The New York Times, 12/04/08) $500 BILLION MCCLATCHY: “President-elect Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have agreed to a $500 billion economic-stimulus package that they want to move next month even before Obama takes office.” (“Obama, Democrats Agree to $500 Billion Stimulus Package,” McClatchy, 12/13/08) $600 BILLION POLITICO: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has increased the size of the economic stimulus package she will support when Congress reconvenes next month, saying it will need to be $500 billion to $600 billion.” (“Pelosi sees bigger, greener stimulus,” Politico, 12/12/08) $700 BILLION WASHINGTON POST: “Facing an increasingly ominous economic outlook, President-elect Barack Obama and other Democrats are rapidly ratcheting up plans for a massive fiscal stimulus program that could total as much as $700 billion over the next two years.” (“Democrats' Stimulus Plan May Reach $700 Billion,” Washington Post, 11/24/08) $775 BILLION WALL STREET JOURNAL: “President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is crafting a stimulus package to send to Congress worth between $675 billion and $775 billion over two years, according to officials familiar with the package...” (“Stimulus Package Heads Toward $850 Billion,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/19/09) $800 BILLION THE NEW YORK TIMES: “Ask just about anyone in Washington involved in the $800-billion-plus economic stimulus legislation churning its way through Congress and they will tell you it is a milestone — but without question the less expensive, and politically and technically less chancy, part of the Great National Bailout of 2009.” (“Spending More Than $800 Billion Is the Easy Part,” The New York Times, 02/08/09) http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTk2NGRkNWQyMDExMTk2NzFlODllZDJlMzVmMjRhZWM= And that's not all, next up –– New Bailout May Top $1.5 Trillion |