Who stands to benefit from economic stimulus? The unwashed masses (um, I mean “taxpayer”)? The beneficiaries of George WPE Bush’s tax breaks? Or maybe the credit industry, the construction industry, the tourism industry? Draw your own conclusions from this Washington Post article.
Here are some highlights, though, in case you’re a lazy American:
The R&D Credit Coalition is seeking an extension of a multibillion-dollar tax break for corporate research. And the Travel Industry Association wants Congress to cough up tens of millions of dollars to help fund advertising abroad to lure foreign tourists and create jobs at restaurants and hotels.
Because we all know that luring tourists here is likely to have an immediate impact and spur instantaneous job growth. And, really (no really, I want to know), how much research does the credit industry really need to conduct? They seem to be pretty good at what they do.
Taxpayers are an afterthought, much as they have been since BushCo stormed the Oval Office:
At the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, one staffer has been charged with trying to keep track of the lobbyist appeals. So far, the list exceeds two dozen significant ideas, and it grows daily. The proposed beneficiaries, besides taxpayers, include real estate agents, physicians, automakers, pension funds, manufacturers, pipelines, insurers, and corporations small and large.
On the plus side, I do hope Mike Huckabee wins the Republican nomination. It would be a delight to witness the titanic struggle between a Democrat (or third-party candidate) and the powerfully insightful and acute intellect that so boldly and heroically derived an economic stimulus package that will lift this beleaguered country from the foul and stinky pools of recession and place us on solid ground again:
We will build new planes, new armed vehicles, new robotic land and air vehicles, and new ships right here in America.
Dac Nelson 