Starting to Feel the Disappointment

I knew this day would come, but I didn't think it would come so soon. I'm feeling a creeping sense of disappointment with President Obama, the stimulus package, and most of all with the Democrats in Congress. I guess I'm still holding out some hope that the Senate will clean things up, perhaps with pressure from President Obama. But it is not too damn likely. I'm not against taking out a mortgage in the form of additional debt (although I really hate the idea of debt), but it should be limited to spending that meet two tests. First, the spending must provide a near-term benefit in the form of either jobs or other economic stimulus. Second, the spending must be for something that really is an investment in the future and not merely current spending. Plenty in the bill as currently written meets neither test. Much of it does not qualify as an investment in the future.

I'd also be okay with using this opportunity to take on a big challenge -- particularly real comprehensive health care reform or a progressive tax simplification. Alas, neither -- even though both could be done in a way that stimulates the economy. Just stupid spending on stuff that makes the Democrats and Obama vulnerable to attack -- and rightly so.