- MENU
- HOME
- SEARCH
- WORLD
- MAIN
- AFRICA
- ASIA
- BALKANS
- EUROPE
- LATIN AMERICA
- MIDDLE EAST
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Benelux
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Russia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- USA
- BUSINESS
- WEALTH
- STOCKS
- TECH
- HEALTH
- LIFESTYLE
- ENTERTAINMENT
- SPORTS
- RSS
- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Dean Baker
There should be little doubt that President Obama deserves credit for what recovery we are seeing, although he also must share in the blame for it not being faster. The basic story of this downturn is very simple: There was a plunge in private sector demand following the collapse of the housing bubble.
The
This is where the stimulus came in. The government had to fill the gap in demand. This fact has nothing to do with how much we like the government compared with the private sector. Private businesses were not about to increase their investment by
President Obama's stimulus helped fill the gap in demand. At this point there have been numerous studies by independent economists, including the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, almost all of which find that the stimulus created between 2 million and 3 million jobs. This was an important boost to the economy at a time when it desperately needed it. It is important to remember that President Obama had to push through this stimulus over the near-unanimous opposition of the Republicans in
The contrary claims by Republicans that the stimulus blocked recovery literally do not make any sense. Is there any employer anywhere who didn't hire workers because stimulus money allowed state and local governments to keep teachers and firefighters employed? Is there a restaurant or factory that cancelled expansion plans because roads and bridges in the area were being repaired?
There can be times when excessive government spending can slow private sector expansion by pushing up interest rates and crowding out private investment. However, with interest rates near 60-year lows, this is clearly not one of those times.
If President Obama deserves blame, it is for not making the stimulus larger and having it last longer. The stimulus was only around
AMERICAN POLITICS
WORLD | AFRICA | ASIA | EUROPE | LATIN AMERICA | MIDDLE EAST | UNITED STATES | ECONOMICS | EDUCATION | ENVIRONMENT | FOREIGN POLICY | POLITICS
Obama Deserves Credit for the Recovery | Politics
© Tribune Media Services