Certainly a very significant event. Of course, the problem has been that it hasn't really been all that effective. Why is the question we should be asking. After all, other countries like China have made similar strategic investments in their economy and are now reaping huge benefits, all despite a slowdown in global trade. China grew 7.1 percent last quarter alone. India? They've grown 8 percent. Brazil? Their unemployment levels are plummeting and their economy is also growing rapidly. In fact, they're one of the largest creditors in the world to the United States. Just a few years ago, they were a debtor nation.

So as we can see, not everyone is doing badly out there. Yet the US, UK, and Europe are all mired in double digit unemployment and negative growth rates, despite aggressive stimulus packages and bank bailout programs. What's the difference between these nations?

The answer is DEBT. It is weighing down our ability to recover. Instead of cash being invested in productive ventures, it is being used to shore up failed banks and industries. That's like printing up money and throwing it into a black hole. And to top it off, we're putting ourselves even more in debt in the process. The interest on the debt alone is rapidly becoming a huge burden. The Federal Reserve produces what essentially is a cash flow statement for the country each quarter, and the results are disheartening. We have $6.8 trillion in Treasury debt, $8.2 trillion in government agency debt, $2.7 trillion in municipal debt, $11.6 trillion of corporate debt, $14.6 trillion in mortgage debt, $2.5 trillion in consumer debt, plus $6.5 trillion in other debts. That totals up to $52.9 trillion total in debt! And that doesn't include our future obligations to Social Security, Medicare, and pensions that exceed $60 trillion. And you also have our banks, which hold derivative obligations in excess of $200 trillion. These are ticking time bombs; globally there are over $600 trillion. Western Europe in particular bought up this junk, and it is one of the reasons why their credit system is stuck in neutral. As long as these debts are their books, they can't extend credit. Citizens in Western Europe and the US have huge amounts of consumer debts, local governments, now cash strapped, are raising taxes and cutting essential services, corporations are defaulting on their debts in record numbers, Washington is having a hard time dealing with the new fiscal realities.

Meanwhile countries like India and China have huge cash reserves, very little to no debt and rapidly growing populations. There is a massive debt discrepancy between these groupings of nations. In a nutshell, our economic policies are failing, while those of China, India and Brazil are succeeding. China invested 13.9% of it's GDP in a stimulus program, while we invested 5.1% of our GDP, but the results are decidedly different.

More important than the sheer size of the stimulus is how it's being pursued. Here in the United States, the stimulus is being financed by debt, despite the fact that our national debt as a percent of GDP is higher than China, India, and Brazil's combined. As opposed, China's stimulus package is being financed by surplus cash, which continue to grow despite the massive stimulus outlays so far.

The Obama Administration is planning on spending it's stimulus cash in one year and is unlikely to have the political and economic capital to come back for more stimulus money. In contrast, China is spreading it's stimulus monies out over 3 years and if needed, they can renew the spending for a few more years. These are solid capital investments that they're making. Roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure critical to economic development are in the works in China. Meanwhile, here in the US, about 2/3rd's of the stimulus went to political pork barrel spending, the other third went to infrastructure. This was money wasted, and now we won't have enough to make the investments that are needed.

We are so far behind the ball on so many issues, it's painful to watch. A countries productive energies are being wasted by foolhardy economic policies. People are starting to get it, but I fear it's already too late.

Regardless of whether you approve of it or not, and regardless of whether it did any good or not, $787 billion is obviously significant.

This money has simply disappeared into the cosmic ether. Stimulus checks have already gone out to dead people. The fraud will be incredible, yet all those so called "shovel ready" jobs have yet to materialize and in fact both unemployment and inflation has gone up not down. Sorry folks, there is no Santa Claus much as you may want a check. The money came out of your pocket to begin with.
The only shovel ready jobs are shoveling the manure that politicians used to sell this nonsense to the public.

UPDATED JUNE 4, 2009: As a social security recipient, I received notice from Uncle Sam the other day that I was getting a check from the Stimulus Bill! I got my bank statement today, and there it is--deposited on May 28--250 of the best! Now what should I stimulate? Hmmmm! Do I heard the pipes playing "Scotland the Brave?"

ORIGINAL COMMENT: Here we have another piece of legislation hammered together by that great consulting firm, Boon and Doggle.

All you have helped is rich people that want for nothing. How about some of us that can't even buy food every month and have to go to food banks like beggars. Any help for us planned???

Thank you for signing the Stimulus Bill. We need the money. I don't understand the package, and how to get my share. I just greatful to be get some of the money.

Sucks Sucks Sucks... Tax us to death. Penalize those that produce and reward those that don't....... We don't need a bigger, huge government full of bureaucracy and waste.

The economy might recover, but it will be in spite of the Bush/Obama bailouts (corporate welfare). You better believe that the government of the USA is run by the International New York bankers, and that's a fact. Obama is worse than Bush, and that's a difficult feat to accomplish. Well, if you like foreign wars, big-government taxation and welfare programs, US government control over our lives here in our home states, then you should like Obama. He's similar to the other big government globalist/welfare/imperialist presidents of the last eighty years (Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II). I rather favor the old USA (non-imperialist) of the pre-1861 years.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! One can't spend his way out of poverty.

It was stupid when George Bush did it and it is still stupid! We need less government, not more. Every time we send a dollar to Washington, they spend over half of it just handling it. The closer to home that we spend our tax money, the more effectively it is spent. My county does a pretty good job. My town does even better because it it unincorporated and doesn't tax me.

Anyone who thinks this plan will work is a moron and or a heavy drug user. That is, unless bankrupting the United States is your idea of success.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
If you follow the lead of those who say DON'T SPEND...then it may be your job that gets tanked next...it's all a domino effect. If I don't buy flowers at my florist than my florist lays off people, those people that got laid off now can't buy the product that your boss sells and you get laid off. Now we have more people who can't purchase insurance for their cars or home so you get into a car accident with someone without auto insurance and you have to pay for it....insurance companies start to lay off it's employees because people can't afford to buy insurance....it's a vicious circle that will eventually effect all of us. This problem has long fingers and even if you have a top executive job and you think your job is safe, think again! I thought my job was safe too. : ( We need to give this stimulus bill a chance to work.

Take the $787 Billion and break it up......
Give it to small business owners.
$100,000 grants to all small business owners in the United States.
In turn - We hire more employees, we build our companies stronger.
even $50,009 per business. will create more then 3.5 million jobs!!!!

When all the money is top heavy...... it never makes it's way down to the bottom.

AND Give a Billion Dollars to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
I've been fighting for over 7 years now after serving my country for 10 years and getting injured.
(A MAJOR RUN AROUND with appeals and BS paper work) The least you can do is take care of your own! OUR SOLDIERS.

AND Give a Billion Dollars to Social Security......
Lets take care of our old people they made us. They created us. We will soon be them.

Simple bail out plan...... All Banks are directed by the Federal Government to charge 5% across the board on all mortgages. (Take a few MINUTES and think how this would affect the economy)

All the BS programs once again are top heavy! Take a look at them, read into them!
The Banks once again are making out!

If the Federal Government bailed out the Banks with our tax money! Why am I still paying my bank for my mortgage loan? It's like I purchased my own marker and I'M still paying for it..... Once again TOP HEAVY... ran with the money leaving the hard working people to pick up the tab.

When the Banks decided to go stated income and over 100% LTV and Neg Am loans The Federal Government NEEDED to step in. (The BIGGEST SCAM of all, The Great Depression was also planned in this matter with banks calling in on the margin loans.) History REPEATS itself again. Spend a few hours on line and research American History and MONEY. And you'll see where we 're headed. Our Government pays the Federal RESERVE bank interest on every dollar it prints.. What a SCAM......and we pay for it! The Federal Reserve bank is NOT even part of our government.


And how it is all a master plan, where we the people are ANTS / SLAVES to our society that is ruled by few. Our Government needs to take back OUR AMERICAN DOLLAR!

(picture this in your mind)
The Government is the dealer at a poker game...... every hand it takes a 20% rake. We the idiots playing, dont realize TIME will kill us all, the dealer will always end up with all the chips.

And the government is just a middle man handing over the money to the few that rule.

Ok enough said..............

I've never known or heard of anything quite like this stimulus thing in my life so, like most people - I really have no frame of reference to make any judgments or predictions. It does seem like a pretty desperate move so - maybe the thought was simply desperate measures for desperate times. From a peasant’s point of view; I have never been opposed to having more cash on hand so I’m not complaining much. Still in all, the whole business seems as though it will be about as effective overall as someone standing in the middle of Jackson Square back in August 2005 flipping off Katrina.

He's been GREAT at spending money, thats about it.

787 billion dollars?... chump change.

I guess my question is that if this legislation was so crucial, so emergency, why did he wait a few days to sign it? Hmm... then again, if its not so crucial, perhaps he should have waited the extra couple days per his policy that he doesn't follow to wait five days. Damnit, now I'm confusing myself. Either way I don't see how alot of the pork in this thing is going to help the economy and fail to see how people who don't pay income tax can get tax credits...

UPDATE: Any bets on whether my agree and disagree are split down party lines?

Yep, this is a big one, "5" all the way. Just for giggles, we're going to "save" 3.5 million jobs? An outrageously optimistic claim but, even if we did, and they paid on average $50,000/year, at a 30% tax rate, both very optimistic fiscally, all tax relief notwithstanding, it would take over 15 years to recoup the investment on that justification. Nobody, even Obama, believes those projections.

It's so urgent, they had to vote on it before anyone could even read it, it's so dire and important, it might be a catastrophe if they don't! And now we're hearing, "don't get your hopes up, it won't take effect right away. " I thought it was an economic stimulus! For right now! What won't you sheep believe, how much of his water do you have to carry before you realize that nobody is driving the intellectual engine, careening toward socialism at 150 MPH? How dare anyone dissent!?

Definitely big news by Obama signing this bill but the bill itself is completely worthless, and loaded w/useless stuff.....but politicians are useless so what the hell. Why not put all this money towards a good cause like universal healthcare or dividing the money up (it would be $2700 apiece, I think I read)...but instead they put it towards home weatherization? Truth is if McCain were president and behind this same exact bill, you would see all the republicans voting for it and none of the democrats....partisan politics as usual but this bill sucks. I'd like to see this bill w/a clause in there to free Blago too (seriously).

Significant? You bet. This is the largest boondoggle pork spending bill in US history. As I have pointed out before, the most optimistic estimates say that 12 cents of every dollar may go toward something worthwhile here. At that even, some of the 12 cents on the dollar magic won't kick in for three to four years. Nevermind the fact that we do not have this money...that we are already 12+ trillion in debt and borrowing money daily just to pay part of the interest on that debt...this will "stimulate" nothing, other than Obama's worshippers.

Whether you like it or not, the passage of this Bill should be one of the biggest stories of the year. This is a massive amount of spending that will have a large impact on our national debt. Hopefully it has a positive effect on our economy as well, but who knows at what point, if ever, we will truly be able to judge that. What we have learned from this Bill so far is that Obama's hopes for a more united, bipartisan Congress seem to have no chance. Republicans and Democrats seem to disagree just like always, and there is no room for compromise in a two pary system.

Fortunatley there was some money in the war chest that won't get used in Iran. The very fact that some sort of solution was required and that some sort of solution was cobbled together is a significant event. There are no guarantees, but inaction wasn't an option.

It's big news, as it's a massive commitment in government spending.

But most economists will tell you that the economics of stimulus spending make sense. When private demand is soft, a government can do much to lighten a recession through short term spending. Our current downturn is expected to drain $2 trillion out of the economy over the next two years. This bill, at approximately a third of that amount, should soften the blow a bit, and keep more people working until the cycle runs its course.

There is certainly pork in this bill. But that doesn't change the fact that a stimulus was needed sooner rather than later.

I agree with the economists that this bill will do more good than harm.

More concerning to me is the Obama administration's foggy details on shoring up the crisis in the financial / banking sectors. Without a sound financial foundation, any recovery plan will struggle to succeed.

I don't know if it will work. Neither do you.

But I'm giving it a four because there could be more news-worthy events later this year. . .it's too early to grant this a five. It does count as an early score for the new administration after a few hiccups concerning appointees who think that paying taxes are optional.