Question: Spending the Stimulus Money Wisely?

Have you been walking around town or driving down the highway and seen one of these signs?

What is interesting to me, is that when projects are funded by the Stimulus, then they are supposed to indicate that the project is funded by place a sign that advertises the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act".

Is this a good thing?

Many may argue that it isn't, and that the money spent manufacturing the signs isn't going to "stimulate" the economy. But could it be a good thing?

I think there is something impotant that the signs indicate, it shows taxpayers that their money i being spent to improve the local community It shows that the government is at least trying to make a change.

Let's have a little faith... in the scheme of things a few million dollars isn't a big deal.

Comment from Leland

A Politico analyst just said that Obama is moving closer to the middle by potentiall ordering a spending freeze on some parts of the government.

Does that imply that the left would never elect to freeze spending?

I like, too, how choosing not to spend money has taken on a political shade.  If it does, I think Obama can kiss his bipartisan fiscal responsibility commission in Congress goodbye...

News Alert - Obama to promote more education spending in the State of the Union speech

I received a news alert from the Washington Post this morning and it said the following:

"President Obama will propose a major increase in funding for elementary and secondary education for the coming year in Wednesday's State of the Union address, one of the few areas to grow in an otherwise austere federal busget, officials said Tuesday night."

When I received this, I became very intrigued.  I wondered... if he's proposing a spending freeze in other areas of the budget, and he wants to increase the Department of Education's budget, then where is he going to cut?  I am sure you will be as interested as I am to hear.

I will keep you updated.

Details on the Spending Freeze

As reported by CNN this evening, the spending freeze proposed by Obama would follow these guidelines:

Out of Scope:

1. Defense and National Security Spendig
2. Entitlements: Social Security, Medicare, etc.\
3. Veteran's Programs
4. Interest payments on the national debt.

In Scope: All other discretionary spending

When he proposed the spending freeze, and it is just "other" discretionary spending, what is left?  Education? Agriculture? Energy?

Let's put this into perspective.  According to the CBO, the annual budget is just over $3T.  Here is how the budget breaks down:

1. 23% on Medicare and Medicaid (Not in Scope)
2. 21% on Social Security (Not in Scope)
3. 21% on National Defense (Not in Scope)
4. 10% on other Mandatory (Not in Scope)
5. 8% on Interest on the National Debt (Not in Scope)
6. 17% other Discretionary Spending <<--- Only Spending in Scope (approx $510B)

I applaud this first step to reduce the defecit, but putting a spending freeze on 17% of the budget may not be enough.  I don't know what the answer is, but as Bill Murray said... "Baby Steps into the Elevator..."

National Debt Reaches $12.1 Trillion Today at Noon!

Can we sit and ponder this for a moment? When you read about the national debt in newspapers, you always see it written like this: $12.1T... but really this is almost an unfathomable number (when you write it out).

$12,100,000,000,000

Now that is a lot of money.

What concerns me the most is not that our national debt is growing out of control and we'll soon be a wholly owned subsidiary of China, but that no one seems to have a plan to dig our way out of this. Think about it, in 20 years, when we are in our 40's and 50's do you want our country to be mortgaged to China? Do you want them influencing our economic policy? Do you want competition and INNOVATION to go by the wayside?

I don't.

President Obama announced last night that he wants to freeze government spending. But what does that mean. Does it mean that he'll just find new taxes to offset the spending plans of Congress (so that our companies and people are at a disadvantage in the global marketplace)? Does it mean that he'll cut entitlement programs (which make up over 50% of the budget)? I am interested to watch the State of the Union on Wednesday to see the specifics on his plan.

Inagural Post - The Contemporary Braintrust

I've been mulling about starting the Contemporary Braintrust up as a blog. The purpose of the group is to bring together a group of smart, young professionals who are concerned with the economic state of our country. I thought today was the day to officially start the blog.

First, a few rules:

1. Anyone is allowed to submit postings
2. We will focus on the economics and the undue burden that is going to be placed on our generation.
3. I want to inspire a conversation so maybe politicians and the like will not ignore our generation, especially when we're the ones who will be saddled with the bill.