Did the stimulus work? Yes. Did it do enough? No.

[Drunken Irishman]

The Obama Stimulus was the largest domestic stimulus package in American history. It came at a time when the world economy was on the brink of collapse and uncertainty dominated much of politics. The stock market was in shambles, jobs were hemorrhaging at 800,000 a month and it was unclear where the bottom actually was.

Obama's stimulus ended that. The recovery began, jobs returned, the stock market regained its traction and the instability and uncertainty was quelled - if only a bit.

The stimulus staved off an economic depression that could have imploded the world economy as severely as the Great Depression.

Even still, the stimulus was only good enough to pull us back from the brink. We haven't really moved away from the cliff since and it's left many doubting the economic future of America. Too many people, even today, are making poor wages, working too few hours, or not employed at all.

The stimulus was a great start - but we needed more. You can blame Obama for not pushing through a second stimulus in the wake of the first, but you also must blame Washington and how it works. Even Obama's original stimulus was contentious, as it gave rise to the current tea party and led many moderate Democrats to openly doubt the massiveness of it. It passed, barely, and through much of 2009, the impact was minimally felt. Sure, the stock market leveled, and jobs slowly (very slowly returned), but the crater the Great Recession created pushed an already bad unemployment rate to highs not seen since the 1980s. 7% turned to 8 and then 9 and then 10%.

The narrative quickly set in that the stimulus was a failure. A failure because, I guess, many expected a miracle in those initial days. Even the New Deal took multiple years to have a great impact over the economy, and even then, it wasn't until America's involvement in World War II that the unemployment rate sunk.

But by the end of 2009, heading into 2010, it was a rallying cry for the right - so much so that any type of second stimulus was not an option. Democrats, many of whom were up for reelection, were not about to support another billion-plus economic salvation knowing the first, at the time, was riddled with questions. The addition of the healthcare fight only muddled things.

The stimulus didn't do enough because it was too small (it was the largest ever). It didn't do enough because politics took over. Instead of waiting to see if it worked, too many Democrats and Republicans pivoted to campaign mode and attacked it - relentless, in fact. As the uneasiness of 2009 bled over into 2010, it only looked like a failure because it didn't have time to establish itself. It played our similarly to the ACA roll out.

That made any add-on or continuation damn near impossible.

It became impossible after Republicans won back the House in 2010.

The stimulus saved our economy. Obama deserves a heckuva lot of credit for that. Unfortunately, it didn't rebuild our economy and that has dogged him his entire presidency.

The next step now will be determined by what congress he has to work with.

[1000words]

1. Somebody has their talking points down pat

Go team.

[Drunken Irishman]

3. Yup. Got 'em in the e-mail today.

[msongs]

2. the filthy rich criminals who caused the collapse are grateful they are allowed to get away with it

and get to keep all the $$ they stole.

[Bennyboy]

4. It worked in the Sacramento valley area...

Citrus Heights Auburn Blvd imporovemnt. turned a blighted area into a nice one. power lines buried, medians, sidwalks on a major artery.

The Highway 49 widening project from Auburn to Grass Valley. (Still underway) which turned a dangerous road into a much nicer road. added an interchange in grass valley that was badly needed.

the lincoln bypass. turned a major bottleneck into a nice cut through. opened a lot of land and paved the way for wallyworld to cut time shipping north. 20 miles of multi lane and the developers are drooling.

the widening of highway 50 from el dorado hills to placerville

the ongoing work on us 80, auburn to the ca state line.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Those are the stories people either refuse to hear about or don't care to hear about.

[okaawhatever]

6. We need a second stimulus focused on rebuilding infrastructure. The CBO and Labor Dept have our

economy very gradually improving through 2020. Most voters vote based on the economy, remember Clinton's "It's the economy stupid"? Republicans know that and don't want the economy to improve before the 2016 elections. It would truly seal their fate. They've pretty much staved off a solid increase before 2010 by refusing to pass stimulus or jobs bills prior to now.

We're in a unique situation where even sympathetic Republicans won't vote for any stimulus measures because of the presence of the tea party. I don't think in our history any kind of spending was attacked so vigorously. You could get the parties to agree as long as there was something in it for each side. Now, it doesn't matter, any increase is considered treason by a very loud and well-funded group of the far right.

The republicans continue to push the notion that the stimulus did nothing and put us in great debt, even convincing many on the left. The first stimulus stopped the Titanic from sinking but the ship is still damaged and needs help. Just because things aren't the way they need to be doesn't mean we haven't made steps in the right direction. When the government stops jobs from being lost there isn't much in the way of credit for the administration. How many people who still have a job have even considered that they still have a job because the stimulus reversed the trend in unemployment?

Refusing to recognize the gains that have been made is like a child plugging their ears and saying "I can't hear you". Time to put our big boy pants on and fight for more to help the workers and middle class of this country. We've come a long way. We have a long way to go but the fight is worth it. It's what will change our individual lives for the better. We have to educate ourselves and fight for what we know will work for us.