Comments on: The long road for Obama’s Stimulus Plan http://kaiyen.com/blog/2009/01/08/the-long-road-for-obamas-stimulus-plan/ Why have 10 blogs on specific topics when you can have just 1 with all kinds of random topics? Thu, 17 May 2012 13:47:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: kaiyen http://kaiyen.com/blog/2009/01/08/the-long-road-for-obamas-stimulus-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-394 kaiyen Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:51:35 +0000 http://kaiyen.com/blog/2009/01/08/the-long-road-for-obamas-stimulus-plan/#comment-394 The key thing is that the spending was without regard to one's ability to afford the repayments (this is a credit-driven economy, so debt is a reality, but one needs to be able to pay off the debt, at least). Spending, in the short term, drives an economy. In the long run, savings will drive investment from banks and other financial institutions (that hold onto your savings), which is even more powerful. But in the short-run individual spending can have more impact. And when no one will lend at all things just go haywire. The key thing is that the spending was without regard to one’s ability to afford the repayments (this is a credit-driven economy, so debt is a reality, but one needs to be able to pay off the debt, at least). Spending, in the short term, drives an economy. In the long run, savings will drive investment from banks and other financial institutions (that hold onto your savings), which is even more powerful. But in the short-run individual spending can have more impact. And when no one will lend at all things just go haywire.

]]> By: Debbie http://kaiyen.com/blog/2009/01/08/the-long-road-for-obamas-stimulus-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-365 Debbie Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:05:56 +0000 http://kaiyen.com/blog/2009/01/08/the-long-road-for-obamas-stimulus-plan/#comment-365 I understand why economists want people to spend, but honestly, this push to spend, spend, spend is what got us into this mess in the first place. I was appalled when President Bush's reaction to 9/11 was to tell people to spend without regard to the affordability of their spending. The spending pendulum went WAY too far and now people need to be encouraged to be more frugal and pay down debt. We don't have much debt - just a reasonable mortgage we can afford and a past LOC balance that we converted to a fixed loan so we could get rid of it (no credit car debt ever here), but we still put the "windfall" of stimulus money earlier this year toward that loan principal. Of course, we did buy a new fridge and new stove this fall, but we had been saving for those items for a year! If there is another stimulus payout, it, too, will go toward the loan principle. A stimulus payout is essentially a gift, and should come with no strings attached. I understand why economists want people to spend, but honestly, this push to spend, spend, spend is what got us into this mess in the first place. I was appalled when President Bush’s reaction to 9/11 was to tell people to spend without regard to the affordability of their spending. The spending pendulum went WAY too far and now people need to be encouraged to be more frugal and pay down debt.

We don’t have much debt – just a reasonable mortgage we can afford and a past LOC balance that we converted to a fixed loan so we could get rid of it (no credit car debt ever here), but we still put the “windfall” of stimulus money earlier this year toward that loan principal. Of course, we did buy a new fridge and new stove this fall, but we had been saving for those items for a year! If there is another stimulus payout, it, too, will go toward the loan principle. A stimulus payout is essentially a gift, and should come with no strings attached.

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