Stimulus Soapbox

Soapbox time!

Is anyone else out there fed up with all the chatter about the stimulus bill and the petty political bickering? Well, I am! Seriously, it is going to take awhile before we see if it works or dooms us to perpetual debt. Why can't we just collectively take a breath and hope for the best? Yes, there is tons of unrelated spending in the bill, but there is also tons of beneficial programs and opportunities being created by the bill. We need to do something so why not get behind this and MAKE it work!

On a similar note, come on Mr. Obama, say something positive for a change. At very least, give us a little HOPE that your stimulus plan will work. If you show confidence, perhaps that will help the rest of America feel confident. All of the Republican whiners out there, stop it! If you have ways of doing things differently (not just complaining for the sake of complaining), then put those ideas out there! At least some of you colleagues (Bobby Jindal, Arlen Spector, Olympia Snowe, Charlie Crist, etc.) are making the best of the situation and adopting it to their respective constituents. Jindal says he is going to reject $100 million of the stimulus aimed at Louisiana because it would require changing all of the unemployment laws of the state. Instead of complaining about the whole bill, he is making a choice in how his state is going to deal with it. Kudos to all of them! All you Democrats, shut up already! Yes, your stimulus package passed, so quit gloating. It is very unbecoming of a party that just ran on a platform of "change".

Finally, consumers out there, you (and I) need to take some responsibility in this debacle. We have been living far outside our means and wracking up incredible amounts of debt. We created this mess by feeding the greed on Wall Street, the petty in-fighting in Washington, and the bulging bubble of the housing market. What can we do? Time to save some money, spend wisely, volunteer more and do business differently. Things will change, but we all have to do our part in the process.