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A Republican Stimulus Package
The Florida Primary continues along a predictable course. Romney’s up; he’s down. Gingrich is ‘on’; he’s having an ‘off’ day. Santorum gets off a zinger, but he’s stuck in the polls. Paul pleases his loyalists, but adds no new ones. Fisticuffs erupt over who is the true right-wing conservative in every watering hole in the Sunshine State. ‘President Obama is a bum and a failure.’ ‘George W Bush? Never heard of him.’
This is not big news to Americans waiting for answers to why there has been a 30% increase in home deliveries in recent years, and why more jobs are being stripped of health benefits, or why more working Americans are heading for local health safety nets. It’s just part of the holding pattern this country is in, part of the national political deadlock.
What is exciting news is that the tight GOP contest has produced an unexpected stimulus package to the economy that the President in all his wisdom never anticipated. Wealthy Americans are finally reaching into their bank accounts, where ever they are located, pulling out big dollars trying to come up with a candidate to beat him in November. High rollers are putting Americans, who produce TV spots and banners and balloons and pins and funny hats and rubber chicken dinners, to work again. Just the money spent on the endless debates alone should be enough to make a blip on the radar screen.
The Bush Tax breaks that failed to produce jobs through 2011 are finally doing what the Bush Administration always claimed they would. Rather than spending the money on opening factories overseas, investing in foreign enterprises, or cruising around the Greek Islands, the so-called ‘Job Creators’ in the private sector are at last investing in America in a way produces jobs and stimulates growth. And you thought we wouldn’t notice! Thank you, Republicans everywhere.
Take Sheldon Edelson the Las Vegas owner of the Sands Corp who is bankrolling the Gingrich PAC. His millions are stimulating the economy of Florida and South Carolina, miles away from Nevada. Wonderful! Without Newt’s surge, these dollars would have sat in some fund somewhere waiting for God knows what.
What’s more, even Mitt Romney, Mr. Bain Capital, is likely pulling money out of his Cayman Island and Swiss bank accounts buying American TV spots and nic-nacs, staying in American hotel and motel rooms, eating food in US restaurants, racking up US phone minutes. Is this not a wonderful thing?
It would be churlish to ask that these jobs be of a more permanent nature. After all this pageantry will be over in ten months and these ‘job creators’ may be back to clipping coupons and importing cars. Let’s wish that the contest continues to be close for as long as possible and that other multi-millionaires are also encouraged to loosen up their purse strings and invest in America. Democratic high rollers should be jumping in this summer.
And thanks to the Citizens United Supreme Court Decision, billions of dollars may get dumped into the economy this year. including some foreign money as well. Those wily Supremes! I’ll bet they foresaw this when they came up with their controversial decision. Tell us, Swami Alito, will this orgy of political spending be enough to pull the US economy out of the doldrums in 2012?
Tom Godfrey
I appreciate your positive comments. I hope you will visit again. TG