The Democrats’ Stimulus Drag

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is a political committee devoted to maintaining and increasing the 239-member Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Congressional Budget Office last week released a new study on the economic effects of the stimulus and arrived at a conclusion that Americans know all too well: that far from strengthening the economy, the Democrats’ stimulus spending spree will actually harm long-term growth:

“CBO: STIMULUS HURTS ECONOMY IN THE LONG RUN”: “CBO said that while the Recovery Act boosted the economy in the short run, the extra debt that the stimulus piled up ‘crowds out’ private investment and ‘will reduce output slightly in the long run — by between 0 and 0.2 percent after 2016.’” (Stephen Dinan, “CBO: Stimulus Hurts Economy in the Long Run,” The Washington Times, 11/22/2011)

This damning verdict on the stimulus comes as little surprise given what we know about how the stimulus came together and has since wasted taxpayer money:

VP JOE BIDEN “LITERALLY PICKED UP THE PHONE AND CALLED JON CORZINE,” NOW UNDER FBI INVESTIGATION, ABOUT HOW TO DESIGN STIMULUS: “Ladies and gentleman; the president and I weren’t back there blaming Jon Corzine then. You know what we were doing? We were on the phone, calling Jon Corzine—literally. I literally picked up the phone and called Jon Corzine and said, ‘Jon, what do you think we should do?’ The reason why we called Jon is because we knew he knew about the economy, about world markets, about how we had to respond, unlike almost anyone we knew… We trusted his judgment. … The facts were, Jon, leading your legislature, was already moving, in New Jersey on an economic stimulus package before anybody else was. … Jon suggested, and laid out, and we talked a long time about what the elements of the recovery package nationally should be.” (Remarks from Joe Biden, YouTube, Accessed 11/14/2011)

“NOT A JOKE,” SAYS JOE: “LITERALLY THE FIRST GUY I CALLED WAS JON CORZINE” BECAUSE “HE’S THE SMARTEST GUY I KNOW IN TERMS OF THE ECONOMY”: “In the transition period before we were sworn in… beginning to plan how we would try to get this economy out of a ditch, literally the first guy I called was Jon Corzine. Not a joke, not a joke. ‘Cause first of all, he’s the smartest guy that I know in terms of the economy and on finance, I really mean this. And he was pushing when I was campaigning about the need for us, once we took office, to hit the ground running.” (Remarks from Joe Biden, You Tube, Accessed 11/22/2011)

This news hasn’t stopped Democrats from pushing more of the same failed stimulus, and reports indicate that Democrats sabotaged the deficit super committee in part because Republicans refused to agree to a second failed stimulus. Democrats just can’t quit their spending addiction:

98 DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND OBAMA’S CALLS FOR MORE STIMULUS: (Thomas.gov, Accessed 11/22/2011)

WHITE HOUSE SAYS “WE CAN’T WAIT” FOR MORE STIMULUS, EVEN THOUGH THE FIRST ONE FAILED: “President Obama's growing impatience with Congress' refusal to ‘pass this bill now’ has launched a new approach -- bypassing Congress by taking actions that don't require congressional support and insisting that ‘We Can't Wait’ for any more delays on Capitol Hill.” (“President Begins ‘We Can’t Wait’ Economic Push,” Fox News, 10/24/2011)

POLITICO/BATTLEGROUND POLL: 75% BELIEVE NATION IS ON WRONG TRACK, “RECORD HIGH IN TWO-DECADE HISTORY OF THE BATTLEGROUND POLL”: (James Hohmann, “Battleground Poll: Economy Drags on Obama,” Politico, 11/13/2011)

MORE: 62% DISAPPROVE OF HOW OBAMA IS HANDLING ECONOMY, INCLUDING 47% WHO STRONGLY DISAPPROVE: “Unsurprisingly, Obama's struggles stem almost entirely from the struggling economy. 47 percent of Americans strongly disapprove of the job he is doing in that area, and another 15 percent somewhat disapprove. Conversely, only 35 percent of those surveyed approved of how the president was handling the economy.” (Justin Sink, “Poll: Obama Leads Top Republicans, but Voters Sour on Economy,” The Hill, 11/14/2011)

CBS NEWS POLL: “OBAMA DISAPPROVAL RATING ON ECONOMY AT RECORD HIGH”: “About 60 percent of voters said they disapprove of Mr. Obama's handling of the economy, the highest on record. Just 34 percent approve of the job he is doing on the matter.” (Corbett B. Daly, "Poll: Obama Disapproval Rating on Economy at Record High," CBS News, 11/11/2011)