Stimulus jobs: Is the recovery act working?

[dadyswat]

The lack of a COLA has absolutely nothing to do with SOcial Security or the Government being out of money. The reason is pretty clearly spelled out in teh article that you cited.

But they'll raise the medicare payment sfor the seniors which will a net loss for seniors.

[dadyswat]

I think that the rush to pass the bill stemmed from the fact that Wall Street feared another Great Depression, and that can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. When the bill failed the first time, there was a huge dip in the markets. So the bill was important for psychological purposes. It is also helping preserve a lot of state public-sector jobs, primarily teachers and law-enforcement officers. Those grants were announced fairly recently, and I do not know how much of the money has been disbursed.

After seeing how many of Congress were invested in those companies I think they were just taking care of themselves.

[DAL]

After seeing how many of Congress were invested in those companies I think they were just taking care of themselves.

Regardless of motive (and I never expect a benign motive from politicians), I think that there were psychological benefits from the stimulus, and many economists agree. Many people thought it would help, regardless of whether it was in fact beneficial. This is reflected in the prices of stocks and bonds.