Stimulus Plan Anniversary I Would Like To Forget

February 17 marks the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s “stimulus” bill. While it has been a year since the Democrats in Congress and the President rammed through their ill-conceived plan, the effects of their deficit spending will be felt for generations to come.

Following enactment of the stimulus, the White House trumpeted its predicted effect on our economy. In a statement dated February 17, 2009, the Obama Administration asserted: “The American economy is in the midst of a crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime. The economy lost 3.6 million jobs in the last 13 months, the biggest job loss since the end of World War II. Many experts believe unemployment could reach double digits if no action is taken. In light of this historic economic weakness, President Obama is signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a nationwide effort to create jobs and transform our economy to compete in the 21st century.”

So, what has been “recovered?” As of January 2010, more than 16 million Americans are out of work with “real unemployment” exceeding 17%. Small businesses have seen little to no relief with “Stimulus/Recovery” funding only finding its way into state budgets and federal projects.

In other words, we now have a monument that should forever remind us of the failed policy of redistributing wealth and the truth that only a very limited government is effective.

I propose an immediate “Stimulus” package utilizing the unspent $500 billion: immediately eliminate capital gains taxes, the death tax, and the alternative minimum tax. Small businesses and those who will invest capital will do what they do best, create jobs.

The American people are right in clamoring for less spending and greater government accountability. The Washington spending spree has not helped our struggling families; instead, the deficit has gorged to historically critical levels at the hands of elitist politicians who don’t trust Americans with our own money.

It’s time for the federal government to live within its budget and its Constitutional bounds.