Who Gets the Credit?

With the economy beginning to show some minor signs of life, even as jobs keep disappearing, who will get the credit? Of course the liberal press will say that it was Obama administration, but this article in yesterday's NYT casts a bit of doubt on the effectiveness of the Obama stimulus plan's affect on the economy.

“We’re 85 days into a two-year program here — we’re trying to get the money out as quickly as we can, but not too quickly, so we don’t end up really screwing up here,” Mr. Biden said.

Yes, 85 days into the squandering and only 6% spread around and yet the economy is growing independently of that 6%, which is a measly $47 Billion of $787 B.

The stimulus bill has directly injected around $45.6 billion into the economy, mostly to help states cover the costs of Medicaid and unemployment benefits, one-time $250 checks that were mailed to Social Security recipients last week, and income tax cuts that began to take effect this spring.

Hardly anyone would consider this initial wealth redistribution as economically stimulating. The economy has a long way to go before job losses begin to turn into job creation and by the time the Obama-stimulation takes hold the economy will be on its way - only to find that the massive taxes needed to support that squandering begin to drag the economy back down.

Update: Wall Street Journal article: Tax Increases Could Kill the Recovery