Kiss my grits…. Please…

Today is just going to be one of those days…. Not that I like picking fights with people, I usually try to avoid unnecessary confrontation, but there are a few current event topics in which I’m willing to engage in hearty debate – today’s Kiss my Grits topic is the Economic Stimulus package that President Obama will sign tomorrow.

For some reason, I am unable to see the stimulus through any lens other than my liberal, invest in the future one…. I’ve tried to listen to the other side. When they try to explain their support for tax cuts to big business and upper income individuals, I can see their lips moving, but the sound doesn’t form words that I comprehend. For example, the company I work for hasn’t made money in the last two years. How is lowering a nonexistent tax burden for this company going to help them hire workers? It’s not! Or, even if a company has made money and their tax burden is lightened, I’m not convinced that they will hire more staff because they can afford to. Until consumers feel that we are headed in the right direction, we aren’t going to start consuming more, which means that producers don’t have to make more. Econ 101: Demand drives supply, not the other way around. This is not a movie about a baseball team. It's about putting people back to work so they can earn a liveable wage and start spending.

On the flip side, fiscal conservatives (that’s a funny thing to write these days, given the last eight years!) say that investing in education, (including Head Start programs) won’t stimulate the economy – I think some Senators and pundits have even labeled this part of the bill as wasteful. Well, my right leaning friends, one of your own, Art Rolnick, Vice President of the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis believes that investments in early childhood education for at-risk children results in a 16% annual rate of return (adjusted for inflation). If you’ve looked at your 401K statement- that ROI is unimaginable! How does he back it up? Well, considering the fact that future prison populations are calculated based on third grade reading levels of the local population, I’d guess that it’s a pretty easy correlation to make! If you want to call me a “tax and spend liberal”, go right ahead, just don’t tell me that all lefty policies are simply meant to grow government. Investing in early childhood education allows growth in one area (education, readiness to participate in society), with the intention of shrinking other programs (public safety, penal systems and crime reduction).

Don’t get me started on the fact that the Vikings are looking for $700 million in funding for a new stadium…. What’s their ROI? Show me the money, someone, please!