Well, it happened. Geithner’s announced a sketchy bank rescue plan and the Dow’s tumbled about 400 points. Newsweek says we’re all socialists now. A farewell to American capitalism for the moment?
But like T.I. says, “Adversity builds character. Character will take you places money can’t.” 58 percent of Americans disapproved of how the GOP handled the stimulus bill process (which will continue as the House and Senate bills get reconciled); E.M. Zanotti thinks Newt Gingrich has the right approach — trying to isolate areas for free market solutions or what have you. Check out the approach of Frosh Rep. Walt Minnick — a Blue Dog — to the stimulus:
Minnick is a member of the Blue Dog caucus of occasionally conservative Democcrats. His START plan is a $170 billion “bare bones” pure stimulus approach that would put $100 billion immediately into the pockets of low- and middle-income Americans, then use the other $70 billion for basic infrastructure projects that create jobs. START requires that all funds not spent by 2010 be returned to the Treasury. START also stops stimulus spending when the nation’s Gross Domestic Product increases in two of three previous quarters, and all START payments are required to be posted on a public website.
The GOP leadership really needs to communicate some alternative to the stimulus or, at the very least, sack up and wedge some free market solutions into one of these bailout/stimulus plans, and trumpeting any success out of them.
