What's missing are the jobs lost in other parts of the economy, because govt stimulus is basically a transfer of resources from existing private businesses. In other words, do we really think taxing Google, filtering the money through Congress and the lobbying machine, and providing those funds to a politically favored roads project is really a net jobs creator for the economy?
The U.S. economy is stalled because of a wave of government legislative activism (health care, finance, bailouts, energy, labor) unseen here since the New Deal.
Your post is too partisan and too cynical. This was a good day, and the system worked.
Of course Congress will hold hearings and some will complain loudly-- it is a controversial and major decision-- but there is no mechanism for Congress to overturn this action...it is up to the courts, the law, and the economists, as designed.
The risk-reward isn't there for pirates. Seasteads will likely be well-armed, populated, far from Somalia and other pirate operating areas, and lack the large material payload of a cargo ship or oil-tanker.
You can still burn out at 300k. Actually, you might be more likely to burn out with a higher salary, because you will find it easier to rationalize abusing yourself by cutting sleep, healthy food, friends, etc.
The Groupon IPO could easily not happen, given the current market turmoil and the SEC scrutiny. If forced to wait several months before the IPO, the company may need to raise more money privately, or could basically fail and fall into the arms of a suitor like Google.
How, exactly, do you propose "paying it back"? Social Security is already a TERRIBLE deal for current workers. The only options are to either limit benefits to retirees, who are already getting more than they paid in (payroll taxes are higher now than they were before 1983), or to make Social Security an even worse deal by taxing current workers even more.
There has been a complete lack of leadership from the Congressional Democrats on this issue. They haven't produced a budget plan in nearly three years, while borrowing 40 cents of every dollar spent during that time.
I'm not a partisan-- George Bush's runaway spending contributed a great deal to the current predicament. But the basic Congressional oversight and operating under a budget hasn't happened the last couple of years.
Japan is a nation of savers and has a massive domestic pool of savings. Also, Japan will drop below investment grade within the next ten years as those savers retire.
America, on the other hand, needs to borrow internationally.
http://beta2.tbo.com/news/nation-world/2008/mar/12/na-red-li...