House Democrats Double Down With Another Stimulus

Brian Riedl / December 18, 2009

Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” So after a $787 billion stimulus that was supposed to create (not merely save) 3.3 million net jobs but instead saw 3.4 million net jobs lost, House Democrats this week have doubled down by (barely) passing yet another $150 billion stimulus bill. Of course, if deficit-spending created jobs and growth, then the staggering $1.4 trillion deficit in 2009 would have already overheated the economy.

The new stimulus bill is offensive on a number of levels. Most of it’s provisions — such as highways ($28 billion) mass transit & Amtrak ($9 billion), education jobs funds ($38 billion) — we’re already funded by the last stimulus, only a quarter of which has been spent thus far. Why not just move that spending up? These plus the extension of other stimulus provisions like the state Medicaid bailout and COBRA health benefits further make a mockery out of the Democrats’ guarantee that the $787 billion stimulus represented one-time spending that would not be extended. (more…)