Smithfield Has That Much Pork?
Pete Sepp, with the National Taxpayers Union, has an op-ed in today’s Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) about the so-called economic stiumus although some it porkulus. Sepp begins:
“At roughly $850 billion and 650 pages and counting, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is a hugely expensive gamble that the Congress and the president are apparently willing to take in a desperate effort to jump-start our economy.
“Unfortunately, our lawmakers, now giddy with a wide-open, taxpayer-funded checkbook, have shoved more pork into this "recovery act" than a truckload of Smithfield hams.
“The single largest spending bill in congressional history, this $850 billion "stimulus" is a massive expansion of government that will ultimately shortchange its financiers — American taxpayers. Shifting resources from the private to the public sector is a time-proven failure that threatens to widen our deficit and stall economic recovery.
“With an actual price tag of $1.2 trillion when interest payments on this deficit spending are factored in, this is money that will come from an empty pocket. Congress will raise taxes at a time when Americans can least afford them, or it will borrow the funds and pass the astronomical debt onto the next generation of taxpayers.”
Sepp concludes by writing:
“A better approach is a pro-growth tax policy that will lay the groundwork for sustainable economic expansion. Otherwise, the government is defying its pledge as a responsible steward of taxpayer money.
“In the rush to "do something quickly" to prevent the economy from sinking further, Congress and the new administration should proceed with caution before they drown us — and our children — in a sea of red ink.”
On Monday, we growled about nations that spend like Smithfield can provide an infinite supply of pork. However, it seems that “a pro-growth tax policy” is a vastly better approach to resolving the nation’s economic woes. We also provided links to Arlington's three members of Congress.