The Right Stimulus
I’ve been following the debate over Himes’ vote against the House “Jobs Bill” with some interest. The measure, according to Himes, is “a $75 billion Democratic spending plan which largely expanded programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”
The first interesting debate is one over whether the vote was principled or politically opportunistic. I lean towards the latter, but have to admit that the technocratic argument against Himes’ position comes off a lot better in print than the political one, as you can see in this CT Post article. And once a consensus starts to gel that constituents can’t really “reach” their elected representative with their concerns (this quote from the Post article – “While I think of everybody I represent, I don’t cast votes according to what any particular small minority agitates for” – gets at what a lot of activists and DTC people are perceiving), then you may as well design your criticisms to sound good when they’re picked up in local media instead of targeting them to what you might perceive that electeds’ perspective and priorities to be. And it’s certainly better to make a Congressman argue with Paul Krugman than My Left Nutmeg.
But that characterization of the spending package kept ringing out in my mind – the idea that the bill was an extension of the early 2009 stimulus measure. If you remember, the House passed a package heavily tilted towards the more effective spending measures, which were then shifted dramatically towards less-effective tax cuts by the Senate. (A comparison of differences between the two bills can be seen here – definitely worth checking out).
In a way, redirecting TARP money towards local governments, direct aid to the unemployed (extended healthcare and unemployment), housing, and transit (as NYC commuter rail faces service cuts due to budget shortfalls) asserts that the House was correct in its original proposal, which Himes seems to acknowledge when he complains that too large a part of the original stimulus has yet to be spent. A more detailed list of the supplemental bill’s programs (which actually add up to a little over $150 billion) can be seen at Pelosi’s legislation blog, and, minus the highway spending, sounds relatively fast-acting.
These institutions being what they are, I understand that “The House Was Right” is not going to be at the top of any Pelosi press releases on the subject. Still, as both a policy and politics matter, it seems a tragic mistake for Representatives of any stripe (and Democrats in particular) to advance the notion that our government has done all it can or should to restore stability at all levels of the economy.