Joe Klein writes in Time Magazine today that he sees two reasons why so many people find the stimulus package wasteful, is because Obama did not explain it well or the people are too dumb to understand its benefits:
1. The Obama Administration has done a terrible job explaining the stimulus package to the American people...especially since there have been very few documented cases of waste so far.
2. This is yet further evidence that Americans are flagrantly ill-informed...and, for those watching Fox News, misinformed.
It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of dodos.
Mr. Klein bases his conclusions on the fact that a good chunk of the stimulus has gone to the people in the form of tax cuts and state grants (bailouts):
Absolutely amazing poll results from CNN today about the $787 stimulus package: nearly three out of four Americans think the money has been wasted. On second thought, they may be right: it's been wasted on them. Indeed, the largest single item in the package--$288 billion--is tax relief for 95% of the American public. This money is that magical $60 to $80 per month you've been finding in your paycheck since last spring. Not a life changing amount, but helpful in paying the bills.
The next highest amount was $275 billion in grants and loans to states. This is why your child's teacher wasn't laid off...and why the fire station has remained open, and why you're not paying even higher state and local taxes to close the local budget hole.
People understand the stimulus just fine. A lousy $13 a week is a cruel joke when gas, groceries and everything else is going up. Trillion dollar dumps from the Feds makes matters worse as the value of our money is diluted further. Bailouts to the states are a temporary bandage. What happens when those stimulus funds run out? State and local governments are going to have to do what they were suppose to do in the first place, cut, cut, cut.
The problem with Joe Klein and arrogant lefties like him is that they refuse to admit that their policies suck eggs. Instead they will blame each other, the electorate or anything else under the sun. It is this “sit back and shut up, because I know best" attitude that is really feeding a lot of the anger out there. Thankfully, idiots like Klein keep stoking the fire, keeping us dumb unwashed masses fired up to eradicate these elitists know nothings once and for all.
Oh and another thing, this one-sided cheerleading by the mainstream media that helped to hoodwink the nation into voting for an empty suit, is a sin that will have to be address sooner rather than later. If the media wants to become relevant again, they need to start giving more facts like a candidate's voting record or the actual make up of these bills before Congress, rather than regurgitating spin or crafting political soap operas. So if Mr. Klein finds the electorate a bunch of "dodos" he need only look in the mirror for the root cause.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: Time Magazine
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