Am I alone in my fear that the stimulus bill wont pass?

[Undercurrent]

This has been eating at me for some time, and today I'm feeling high anxiety. If this bill, as imperfect as it may be, doesn't pass I really, really fear we will reach the tipping point, and will slide, head long into a depression.

What do you all think? Am I a total nutso worry wort? Maybe you think there really isn't a looming catastrophe, or even if there is that nothing we do will prevent it.

My concern is for families, children, the mentally ill, the disabled, and all the others who always suffer more than anyone else when there is civil or economic upheaval. The impact of a depression on the weakest among us would be terrible.

[OhioChick]

1. I Share Your Concern. n/t

[BeatleBoot]

2. I worry more that it won't work

And I think things are way too messed up for it to work.


Just my fear.

[OhioChick]

7. I should have expressed my concerns more clearly...

I'm terribly afraid that it won't work, like you.

[Undercurrent]

8. That is my second fear.

That no matter what we do we can't repair the breach in the dike. It's gotten to big already.

[Solomon]

13. You put your finger on it. I'm concerned that they may

shortchange what is necessary for it to work. I have no doubt that a bill will be passed, but I'm concerned by those who say it needs more money. I would rather go ahead and take out a bigger loan to insure fixing it, instead of using band-aids and duct tape, because I want to save money. We're already blowing a big wad as it is, so we might as well get as much as will fix it.

[Mojorabbit]

25. I don't think it will work either

and there will have to be another one. I think we are just going to have to go through some hard times.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Something will pass ...

The problem, as I see it, is that what we're going to end up with is a bill that is mostly written by Republicans.

I've long over-defended Democrats in Congress, but this is too fucking much. If the Democratic leadership doesn't force them to filibuster -- and by that I mean stand up and talk constantly to hold the floor rather than this asinine shit about going home for a break -- we're going to have a very long, very bad two years at least.

[Jennicut]

4. It will pass. Something will pass. Even rethugs know they have to produce something.

The economy sucks too much to not do anything about it. Voters will be quick to judge right now.

[billyoc]

5. It won't pass as currently written. Too many blue dogs will dig in with the R's.

[dbonds]

6. Don't fear it, that does no good. If it doesn't pass then there will be another one.

Don't waste energy on fear.

[jillan]

9. Obama is betting his whole presidency on this. He has got to make it work.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. So what exactly was the genesis of this bill? I know, the Dems

wanted to "re-fund" areas gouged by the Repukes and Bush. But, seriously, adding anything that
is not a stimuli strikes me as a very bad move. Gave them ammunition.

[Undercurrent]

16. True.

This is why I fear it may not pass. The House Democrats are like kinds in a candy store, grabbing everything in sight. Many of their proposals are good, and should be passed separately. They just don't belong in a economy kick-start bill.

[Solomon]

22. I think they threw all the goodies in there because it's the only

way we can get what we need. There's plenty to throw away and make the republicans think that they saed the bill. It we went with just what we need, they would chop that down. I think the dems know what they are doing this time around. Sure, the people here will whine and moan about we Obama let them take out. But meanwhile, despite all the whining about it, we at least get enough to get things going.

[OHdem10]

11. Something will pass--we may not recognize it with all the changes.

[rwheeler31]

12. It wii pass.

[ChromeFoundry]

14. I think the current proposed bill

does not promote American interests well enough. It's not that I want the rest of the world to fail and we succeed. I just see where we bailout corporations that are laying off US employees and hiring offshore people as nonsensical.

Frankly, it scares the hell out of me.

[Pirate Smile]

15. I think there would be hell to pay. It would be like when the TARP bill failed the first time.

The next few days scared the crap out of the "no" votes. I think the same thing would happen. Republicans would be pilloried. I think they actually want it to pass. They just don't want to have any responsibility for it.

[Undercurrent]

19. Or just have an excuse to beat up on our President.

[sandnsea]

17. The fear is it will be a POS

by the time it does pass. If they keep cutting spending and adding tax cuts, it will be.

[saltpoint]

18. I'm more hopeful that a stimulus package will pass than I am

persuaded that the one that we eventually get will be ambitious enough.

I'm in the mega-neoNew Deal camp on economic stimulus, ideally one to include a national speed rail system.

I also agree with Senator Kerry who suggests we stop lending our ears to the whiney-ass Republicans who aren't going to support meaningful reform in the first place.

[DJ13]

20. Im actually kinda hoping it doesnt pass in its present form

No, not because I dont like it, but because the day its voted down the stock markets will fall several hundred points, and the blame will lie squarely with the Republicans.

[Juche]

21. I worry its too small and timid

Our country needs 2 trillion+ of infrastructure investment and aid to states to help job creation over the next 2 years to reduce unemployment by 2-3% and to repair our infrastructure. Instead we are getting about 550 billion in those areas (barely 200-300 billion in infrastructure) and another 250 billion in tax cuts that people are just going to pocket and not spend.

I think it'll pass, but it'll be so timid and small that it won't matter.

[obiwan]

23. Fear is not in my vocabulary. What is, is.

Fear is a waste of time and energy. What will happen, happens. Therefore, it's not worth my time to be scared. Of anything.

[jeanpalmer]

24. This is a hail mary

An act of desperation. It wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't work, even if passed. The problem is a lot of the economy is gone forever, there's no bringing it back.

But to ensure passage, the bill should have been stripped of all the controversial provisions. I can't understand why Obama let it go through in its present form. Money for the arts? You gotta be kidding me. He set himself up for a fall.

[terisan]

26. There will be a stimulus bill passed. They are just arguing over details. A lot of countries are

passing such bills and the US will too. Television reports on the people who are shouting but others are working quietly and diligently to get it passed. It may not accomplish what is intended however-but it should be a help. If not we will do more infrastructure building and more programs for disabled and mentally ill people to keep things going until the world mess is resolved.

The next spending bill-2nd bank bailout and foreclosure prevention is more of an issue than the stimulus bill. Everyone wants to do something about the foreclosures but wrapping it up with the unpopular bank bailout might cause problems for its passage. The delay in dealing with the housing issue does keep making things worse.

We may be better off acknowledging that the big banks have failed and not keep throwing money at them. Many of are commercial and local banks are doing all right.


As a country we have tremendous strengths in national resources and things are different from the 1930s when we were less educated, an agrarian society fighting the dust bowl, had no infrastructure for disabled and mentally ill people, less technology, and did not have the health care we have now (I know it needs to be changed to serve everyone equally-and believe that will happen).

Our biggest problem, I think, is not knowing how much debt we are in due to the banking system and not having yet dealt with the home foreclosure issue.

I hope that you are personally reasonably secure.

[Undercurrent]

27. I hope you are secure too.

Yes things sure are different than they were in the 1930s. Which is either better or worse, depending on how you look at it. While we didn't have much of a social/government infrastructure to care for the old, ill, or children, many more people lived in extended families. And while we were much more of an agrarian society, many people knew skills like gardening, raising animals for food etc. Technology is of course, light years more advanced now, but people are dependent on technologies that may be out of reach financially if we experience a depression. And so on.

Personally I am snug and sound, and don't feel all that threatened by the prospects of a depression. I'm a very independent old gal, and live alone in a tiny handmade house on 5 rural acres which I own outright. I have a creek which I use for my water, hunting rifles, gardens, zero credit card bills, and a shop filled with everything from welders to auto tools. I'm a silversmith, and while my business has been flattened by the recession, I have living funds for some time.

Take good care.