Pioneer Woman Hauling Cow ChipsJon Markman tells us Why Bush's bailout wouldn't work.
That rumbling sound you hear coming from Washington, D.C.? It's Treasury Department helicopters packed with bags full of cash about to be dropped on voters, as the federal government prepares to launch a brazen, desperate election-year effort to rescue the economy.
If you thought the government's delayed response to Hurricane Katrina was a study in out-of-control largesse -- replete with no-strings-attached debit cards handed to anyone with a Cajun accent and a damp shirt -- wait until you see what the government has in mind for the rest of us this year.
The latest is President Bush's just-announced call for $145 billion in tax relief aimed at preventing a recession that is actually already here. The intent of the plan is simple: "Letting Americans keep more of their money should increase consumer spending," the president said. Bush said Congress should take steps to implement a stimulus plan as soon as possible.
As you can see from the stock market's response***, the plan suffers from being too little, too late. After years of turning a blind eye to economic imbalances that have thrown thousands of people out of their homes and jobs, Bush now offers the economic equivalent of a Band-Aid. But he's not alone. Members of Congress, presidential candidates and Fed governors have all made promises in the past two weeks to turn the federal piggy bank upside down to ward off the ill effects of a recession.
*** Wall St. drops as Bush rescue plan disappoints: Stocks tumbled for a fourth day on Friday to close out the worst week for the S&P 500 in five years on worry that a White House effort to boost the economy may not prevent a recession.
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