Why aren't the rest of the Stimulus money being released now when we need it?

Question

I just asked a question about President Obama and the slow recovery our economy seems to be in....or even getting worse.

Several posters mentioned that the stimulus money has not been released, that only around 5% so far.

Why in the world would they only release such a Small amount when so many people are out of work, business's closings etc....?

Wouldn't releasing as much money as possible be a First priority to get the economy running again?


I AM not saying I have the answers or that I know something or smarter than the next guy......I am just asking!


REMEMBER...take care of your health and it will take care of you. If you won't do it for you...do it for the ones that love and count on YOU!

Answer 1

Kinda makes you wonder why it had to be passed before anyone read it, eh? Remember? The final bill HAD to be passed in time to be on Obama's desk on a Friday morning. It was such an emergency that they couldn't even wait over the weekend. And now the funds sit there.



Edit: To the poster above who suggests that it takes time to figure out how to spend it: Where was this cool, thoughtful deliberation when they were drafting and voting on it?



The truth is, that most of these funds will kick in right around re-election time for the Dems.

Answer 2

I think it is slightly higher than 5%, more in the 8-9% range spent. What gets me is that this bill was passed with "dire" urgency to the point where they didn't even have time to read the whole bill. We should have just passed the portion that has already been spent, with a little extra as a buffer, then add more as it needs to be added. Now we are stuck with the whole bill whether we need it or not.



The only thing I can attribute the slow release to is that it is too far away from the next election time. If you release it all now and it does not succeed/last long enough, then it will hurt his chances at being reelected. Basically it is all political strategy. But I think that they are finally realizing that our situation does require more attention, which is why they plan on releasing a bigger portion this summer.



But with that said, be cautious of what you ask for. If the money does get spent, you can count on inflation (more than we're used to) hitting us in the face.

Answer 3

The majority of the money has been promised to various organizations over a period of 2, 4, 6, 8 years ~ Even if they released it all it would do nothing to help the economy and very little to create jobs.



The original stimulus was basically a payback for all the organizations (ie: ACORN) that got Obama elected.



One of the items from the Stimulus Plan the Government offered my state was $138.9 Million in one-time federal “stimulus” money, but it would impose an annual unemployment assessment (TAX) increase of $69.7 Million on Employers.



It was to give unemployment money to Part Time workers that were laid off, one catch was our state would have to match those funds, which would mean an immediate Tax on All Employers, which would result in more job loss. (Especially for Small Businesses)



The other catch was after the Federal Stimulus money runs out (in 2 years) our state would have to come up with the Federal government's portion of the money to continue the program, which would wind up being yet another Tax on Employers and result in even more job losses.



Luckily my state refused that money, knowing that it would actually cause more job loss.



There were many strings attached to the money handed to states that people are completely unaware of, that will wind up costing taxpayers much more money in the long run.



The Original Stimulus Plan was a complete failure at actually "Stimulating the Economy" and now they want a do-over...

Answer 4

It is funny to read the complaints by Democrats that the stimulus package was too small when only a small percentage of it has been spent.

The mistake of under estimating the extent of the recession is totally unrelated to the amount of money available.

The REAL miscalculation was trying to wait and disperse the money closer to the mid term elections in order to buy votes for Democratic candidates (at tax payer expense).

This strategy now seems to have back fired on Obama.

Corporate earning statements due out this week coupled with the growing consensus the he now "owns" the economy will further validate the failure of his policies, and forces the administration to frantically seek a way to continue to blame Bush.

Answer 5

They only passed it for the pork and wasteful spending. The money will be spent on crap in a few years down the road. All of the Obama Administration and Congress's big Business buddies were taken care of and that's all the Elite ever really cares about!

Answer 6

It was never about stimulating the economy anyway, It was about looking like Obama was doing something about the Economy while created further government dependence.

Answer 7

The real question is what was done with the TARP funds. They were paid out to banks who did not need the money. The banks returned the money plus 1.2 billion in interest. Was the money returned to the general fund? No.

Answer 8

I was against Bush's bailout and Obama's stimulus.

They should cancel it immediately before the other 95% is paid out.

But I read it's not scheduled to go out till 2010 - not sure why that is.

Answer 9

The dumocrats are waiting to target areas where they might lose elections. You will see it start to flow in 2010 and you will see signs go up that say , " This is Obama's stimulus money hard at work," as a laborer leans on his shovel next to it.

Answer 10

Because Obama wants to spend it right before the elections so there is a false 'boost' just before voting.



At least that is what I have heard speculated and his actions are consistant with that.

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Jesus, anything you can't explain well enough for the simple to understand is likely a smoke screen.

Answer 11

Actually I think about 1/3 of it has been spent so far. You can't just throw money at things and not know where its going, this isn't the Bush administration any more. 780 billion is a lot of money, it takes time to figure out how the money will be used most effectively.

Answer 12

They are talking about a second stimulus now. They want the crisis to continue so they can get more money.

Answer 13

Liquidity trap.



Expendable funds theory



Quantitive theory of money.



Fisher equation.



Read up on the above and it should shine a light on it, perhaps.

Answer 14

ask the state & local governments

that is where the snags are