CNN

Jack,absolutely!It would really make republicans angry & that's enough reason to do it.

Not at this time, they haven't spent the first one yet.

It's going to have to. They went too small in the beginning, just like Krugman and others said. They will have a much harder time getting more now.

Jack,
What our government needs to do to stimulate the economy is start cutting politicians jobs and benifits to the ones that are still here. Make them all take at least a 35% cut in pay. Beside that, they only work about 6 to 7 months a year, with the rest of the time off with full pay and benifits. These political leeches need to be thinned out a great deal, they continue to suck the economy dry. Many of these old fools need to go, like Ted Kennedy for one, I swear I have know idea how this guy gets re-elected, retire already, he's just 1 example.
Carl in Illinois

Not no but Heck no. When they did not read the first Stimulis package,and passed that wasteful spending package why would we want them to waste more of our Tax money? 2 million jobs lost since the Stimulis was signed ,after Obama promised it would create jobs.Why tidbits do they want now,10 limo's for Obama's staff? More trips to pakistan for our homeland security chief?More money for Hamas?A new study of the Odor of pig farms in the D.C. area?A penal transplant for Pelosi?How much more of our Tax money do they want to waste?

A second stimulus is definately needed to get this country rolling again. Let us not put fear in the way, let us be bold and move forward.

Well Jack, of course the gov't must consider a second stimulus; it's how they get votes and I'm sure that in due time, today's newborns and children won't mind paying for it sixfold!
Really though....NO WAY....there ought not have been even a first one, and there definitely should never have been a bank bailout especially one orchestrated by the banksters themselves.

Jack. No.

Absolutely not. The first stimulus package has not been spent yet. Last report I heard only 10% of the money was out there and that regulators wanted to make sure it was being spent wisely. Enough already, get some projects going, create some jobs - Washington red tape barons. This slow process should have been expected even in a urgent situtation.

I think we are stimulused out! The last one did not do anything positive and neither did the one before that... We just get into more debt with China, which we really don't need. At this point, I'd be surprised if we could find someone to loan us the money for another stimulus package.

Yes, a new stimulus package is needed. This one should be directed to ordinary Americans rather than corporations and banks. While they are at it, they should also eliminate student debt.

What part of broke dosen't this Government understand?

Yes. The reason is because of high unemployment. The first stimulus had limited but important results. So we need a second stimulus to save or create 900,000 jobs.

Republicans made sure the first stimulus was too small so it wouldn't work. Now is the time to do it right.

Walt

Shouldn't we wait to see if the first one has worked? It's way too soon to begin go to even talk about a second one. Plus, spending another 12 billion dollars doesn't seem like the best idea right now. From what I've heard reported on CNN, the economy is supposed to be recovering. Why not wait it out just a couple more months?

Colin
Seal Beach, CA

Absolutely not! Why can't we learn to live within our means? All a stimulus means is give some here and give some there. In the end, those of us who scrimp and save end up paying for those who can't or won't.

NO, we are in enough debt already. We need to focus on our budget first, the economy will smooth out over time

NO the Goverment has wasted enough monney already

We need to help the state and local gov'ts. A second stimulus would be valuable if it took the form of helping local gov'ts not lay off police, firemen, and teachers.

Send me another stimulus check..sure, this time I will by a mini laptop from a US firm that sells "Made in China", products. That will surely turn the balance of trade to .....from better to worse...IMO.

jf

Jack, has anyone really seen the stimulus money in action? Didnt think so. Maybe an extra $1 trillion in debt will do it. But I doubt the only thing we will ever see is our great grandchildren getting the bill.

If they do a second stimulus plan, they will need to focus more on job creation now. One of the main problems of the first stimulus plan was the speed of job creation. The second stimulus has to take effect swiftly.

No. Everybody needs to be patient, Jack. All of the money has not been set out yet, and this is for a 2 year period. We won't know if the stimulus is a success for at least another year. South Carolina just received theres ad Mississippi and Alabama have refused theirs (for now). It will take time to get everything up and running

Yes, but only if there goning to give me a check since my unemployment has run out and they unemployment in my county is 10.75%. Let the people stimulate the economy.

A stimulus package for Congress should be considered. Do the work we hired you to do. “Fix the economy or be replaced with others that will.”

Socialism will not work in a Democracy, the sooner the law Professor/ community organizer realizes this, the sooner we actually begin to recover.

No–there should be no second "stimulus"–I knew the first one would be a disaster! The "yes we can" nonsense of B.O.–should be NO you can't with my money–NO you can't with my liberty!

No. No. No. I am a Democrat and supported the first one. But it clearly failed and we are all going to have to pay for it. Instead of another worthless stimulus, how about making the banks do what they are supposed to do? Like lend, for example? Now that would be a real stimulus! Albany, CA

I keep hearing that only a small percentage of the first stimulus package has even been used. Perhaps we should take the money that hasn't been spent from the first package and spend it in areas that need it before we pass a second, (excuse me, third) stimulus package. Not that I believe they work anyway.

Technically, it would be the "third" stimulus if you count the money wasted in the Bush administration. Maybe if the first two actually provided money for real jobs, they would not need another one; but they chose to give the money to banks and expand goverment (much of which has not even been spent yet). Therefore, there has been no positive effect on the econcomy. They will never learn and at the very least we will end up with "a lost decade" just like Japan.

Julie
Pflugerville, TX

Not if its not going directly to the people,because banks and car manufactures dont stimulate the economy. Common people strengtens the economy.Corporations wont do it either,because all they do is hog the money and create no jobs. Putting people back to work,works stupid!!

Sure, why not, my not yet realized grandchildren are already in debt by 11,000. I guess my future great-grandchildren should be born into a debt that's not theirs too.
Those not yet realized great-grandchildren will be speaking Chinese as This country will be so in debt to the Chinese that that country will own this one.

Ohio

I want a strong Republican party that pushes for smaller government and less spending. I find myself supporting Obama simply because he's getting things done (as opposed to Republicans quarraling amongst themselves). But now with talks of another stimulus package it has come to the point where I just can't keep supporting him. Where are some real republican leaders to fight all this government spending?

I think we need another stimulus package but this time give it to the people who can stimulate the economy "the citizens" I know if I had the money I would spend it

Yes, but only if it goes directly into the hands of working people and very small businesses to help subsidize college education, mortgage refinancing, funds for upgrading homes with energy savings, etc.

Regarding small business a tax vacation from employer payroll taxes would go a long way to decrease unemployment. As a bookkeeper I have seen more small businesses go under because of the inability to pay payroll taxes than any other reason.

Absolutely not. The more the government monetizes debt, the more inflation climbs, and the harder it is for the economy to recover. The federal and most state governments are drowning in debt as is.

i believe its morso the part of the state's distribution of the money they recieved. example – take a look into ohio. i know our local channel 5 news is gonna have a report tonight investigating "weres all that money at?"

the obama administration had, has im sure the best of intents, but yet its up to the states to distribute it properly and they just arnt.

well jack, i would say yes for stimulas, (but) under consideration i say no, why??? because when its said and done we the people get scraps if any ar all, but the u..s. state senate and congress make of like fat rat's running back to there hole!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the gov't should consider a 2nd stimulus–this time give it to the people much like Bush did last year. I never thought a stimulus given to wall street would help main street as well....and I was right....from someone who was laid off a month ago- things are NOT getting better!

ABSOLUTLY not!!!! We should undo the first one!

A second stimulus package? I almost vomited when I heard this. It seems that our government seems to lack even the most basic knowledge of simple Economics. A second stimulus package will just supplement the burden that the younger generations will have to carry with no output effect. Half of the money we've utilized from this package has gone to straight bull and it's a shame.

No, the government should not consider another stimulus package. This is absolutely insane.

The have contradicted themselves repeatedly, and if the first package, with all its promises, did not work, what makes us think another one would? And where are we getting the money from it? China? Again?

If this trend continues, our foreign debt will be 20 trillion within 1 or 2 years. Again, absolutely insane.

I work for the Federal Government, and in my opinion, about 25% of the people I work with are superfluous and do nothing at all. Another 25%, though not superfluous, still do nothing at all. God forbid you ask those people to do their jobs (ugh!). That leaves 50% of us to get work done, thus, very little gets done. I think Congress is even more inefficient.

Give more money to the government? No. They'd just hire more people to do nothing. What would that get us? Nothing.

Jae, Detroit, MI

Adages are often wise advice. Like – IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY, -SOMETHING ELSE.
Sure, I'd like a stimulus, but how much is it going to cost me in the long run.
I'm afraid our president has illusions of grandeur. Somebody please wake him up before he breaks the bank.

Before we put more money into a 2nd stimulus plan, I want to see where the money from the first one went. I don't want general info, I want to see the ledger entries. We need a government website where all of us can see line-item by line-item spending of this money. I want to be able to repeatedly double click on each one until I can see the money actually going into a citizen's bank account.

It's too soon to talk about a second stimulus bill. Correction, a third stimulus bill. Let's not forget that President Bush was responsible for the first stimulus package. A recession takes time to hit rock bottom. Being so hasty to sign a third bill before seeing how effective the first two bills were, is an irresponsible thing to do.

In Las Vegas when a gambler double downs and loses he had better be able to cover his losses. If congress plays double or nothing it will be the tax payers that have to cover the bet..and knee caps will be broken.

No way! It will just go to the same fat cat Richie Rich's tax cuts and to the investment banks who have perpetrated the biggest robbery in history..

Jack, only if it goes to the people this time. If the goverment had given the money to the people instead of the crooked banks and A.I.G. we probably would'nt be here right now

In the first stimulus package ww bailed out the financial institutions. In the second we are going to sped billions over 24 months. The third stimulus package needs to be gov't showing it has the ability to control its own spending. Unfortunately we have the same problem here in Illinois. We want to raise taxes without the pain of cutting services

Without a doubt foreign relations are important, but please help me understand why our President is off trotting around the world, (with his family in tow and the US citizens footing the bill) when our economy is getting worse and many like myself continue to be out of work and struggling. I am a firm believer that you should take care of your problems at home before you try to save the world. If he just wanted to travel internationally, maybe he should have chosen a different occupation. We need a President who will dig his heels in at home and help those of us willing and ready to work find jobs.....

Why throw good money after bad? The politicians didn't know what they were doing the first time. What makes them think they can do any better a second time? They'll only put us further in debt. Let the law makers give up some of their perks and see what it's like to live like the rest of us. A lot of money could be saved that way.

The original stimulus package only had 500 million dollars dedicated to infrastructure projects that actually could have created jobs. This is because the purpose of the stimulus was not to create jobs but to expand government power. Government is not the solution it IS the problem.

Yes we need a second stimulus because I have been out of work since August 2008 and my job has been looking for a job without no profits. The government needs to distribute funds to those out of work or at least give them to companies that could produce jobs right away for someone like me with a MBA degree. My stress is getting out of control.

Yes, Absoluetly. Th reason why they need a second stimulus is because the millions of Americans in poorer areas havent felt the first stimulus. The second stimulus should a form of a check thats sent to many taxpayers. Come on America we need a second stimulus. President Obama is great, this issue is slowly getting better!

If the goverment is going to do a stimulus package, lets do a real one, they gave away billiions to companies that were and continue to fail. If the do a SP 2, lets divide it up amongst tax payers and really stimulate the economy, no more of this tiny little $700 checks, or a percentage of your paycheck, give us real checks, do the math 800 billion divided by the number of taxpayers......if average Joe gets a $20,000+ check, he can pay bills, mortgages and buy things, hey how about that !, that stimulates the economy.

Stop the bleeding! What will a second stimulas plan do that the first one didn't? There must be a different alternative than eternal debt of this country.

I work in the retail sector. We missed the boat with the money they sent everyone. Want people to spur the economy, give them money to spend. Send out another round of checks to the people at the holidays. Give people money around then and they will shop. People like to spend money during the holidays. It's human nature.

NO! It NEVER works, to throw GOOD money after BAD!
Didn't the Bank "Bail-Outs" prove this?
America has to PRODUCE and SELL itself OUT of this Recession!
I REALLY don't understand why China out-sells America, EVEN if cheaper!
American products are ALWAYS BETTER!!
BUY AMERICAN!!
Nick. N.
Pasadena. CA.

Instead of Stimulus II how about spending all the $$ from Stimulus I this year? Less than 10% of the money has been allocated for this fiscal year.

John W.
Chico, Ca

YES, if necessary. This is a global issue and leaders worldwide have discussed the need for Phase II stimulus. Why is it the loudest critics were in control for 8 years creating this mess by doing nothing corrective. We sure do not need any Boehner or McConnell stupid ideas which obviously accomplished NOTHING for 8 years..

No. I don't think they should consider a second stimulus. We were treading on thin ice as it was with the first stimulus. And I think that if the first one faliled there is no reason to say that the second one won't follow suit. I also think that we are adding an enormous amount of financial weight on the next generation which I guess is technically me. And I personally don't want to pay for the governments mistakes. If the government is serious about considering a second stimulus it should go to a public vote. The 787 billion dollar first stimulus was big enough. And I don't think that our elected officials can properly represent us on and a single issue, a single bill that has the possibility of being more that 1 trillion dollars.

Jack:

The stimulus should be given, in cash to Americans only. No banks, no bailouts for AIG, just a lump sum, tax free amount of 1,000,000. Think about it; the housing crisis over, the unemployment problem, over. The cash would readily be spent in retail, etc.
Just a suggestion. It would be cheaper than the prior bailouts to the banks and help Americans. Just Americans, must show ID

DC stinks.

Jack,
As much as I hate to say it'"I think the govt. should act quickly with a 2nd round of stimulus money." I have been out of work for 13 months now and the future prospects are looking bleak. No manufacturing jobs left in southwestern Virginia!!! Help!!

Jack I think it is way to soon, it took us all of these years to get in this mess. Now everyone want the mess to go away in a few months, let get real it going to be awhile.This country is in a deep mess, the have take and take from consumers for so long. It time for them to give it back, they jack up the housing market, auto industry, gas industry. We have just price ourselves right out of the market. There have not being any rise in salaries over the years. So what do we expect, it has been a system doom to blow up. The problem is here so we have to deal with it.

David
Martinsburg.WV

I think a second stimulus package is definitely in order. I think it should be aimed directly at the consumer this time.

I don't like the debt we are incurring, but what option would the Republicans suggest to help those who are out of jobs. Their spending would stimulate production and in turn employment.

I don't like the idea of incurring huge amounts of national debt, but I see no other option. Let them eat cake would be the Republican position as I see it.

Ammon, Idaho

If the government does not take the banks by the "you know whats" and force them to play nice, we simply can not recover.

They got all this money, yet they are still screwing with us little people and we just can not catch up. B of A cut my mine of credit to exactly what I owe.

Washington Mutual has to be #1 on the list of criminal banks, they are still jacking their people around w/ outrageous fees, changing due dates, refusing to process payments ontime and even not allow you access to cash, green backs you deposit, so you can write a check and pay a bill.

If no one can get credit, or get out from under crooked banks, we just plain can not buy anything and stimulate the economy.

Also, what about the increase in gas prices? Anyone notice those creeping up again? We never recovered from the price increases on everything we buy when gas was $4+/gallon, and now they are rising again and prices are increases yet again!

C'Mon Governement! Fix from the bottom first,. and then maybe the stimulus package can work.

Right now they are just trying to hold back a Katrina w/ a broom

No Jack. I warned of these things to come, but no one listened. Bankers took care of the bankers, insurance companies took care of the insurance companies, corporate America took care of themselves and no one took care of the people. But, I don't blame President Obama. Everything that has happened to this country finds it's roots in the republican party and George W. Bush. As I said Jack, (there was more to come with the republicans destroying themselves). They will not ever gain power again, not ever.

We were a great country, it's ashame, no one listened.

But, to be sure, Great things are coming.

I doubt this will be read on TV, but here we go...

The federal reserve is a PRIVATE bank that charges a % interest on each dollar it prints out and loans it out to our government to fund its projects. The more money it prints, the more profit it makes, and the less the value of the currency. Additionally the taxes we pay are used to pay this debt to the international bankers who own the Fed, most taxpayers do not know that we're borrowing our own money.
We should be printing our OWN money, and ABOLISHING the Federal Reserve. And stop the bail outs.

Hi Jack,
I do not think a second stimulus package is a good idea? I think giving a Federal Tax Holiday for 6 months to US Workers should be considered. This has far better chance of making an impact on US economy since people will have more "cash" on their hands and in-turn could lead to more consumer spending – the last I checked consumer spending is 2/3rd of our economy. Enough of government spending that goes no where.

The definition of insantity is repeating the same mistake over and over and over .... Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me ... need I say more.

Absolutely. But this time, DO IT RIGHT! Put the money in the hands of those who SPEND the money. Allowing state governments to control it is not doing a bit of good, other than balancing the budgets of the states. Putting the money directly in the hands of individuals and small business will get the money into circulation creating cash flow for both local and big-box stores, who buy products they sell from distributors who buy from manufacturers and farms locally, throughout North America and Worldwide.

Dave – Ohio

Absolutely not, Jack. The failure of the first stimulus package was that it didn't release enough funds from the start in order to jumpstart the economy and create more immediate jobs. Although I am a democrat and supporter of the president, I believe the Obama Administrationb was far too optimistic about the economy's effect on the state of the union.

I dont beleive they should even be discussing a second stimulus bill as of yet. The first stimulus package has only been signed into law for 4mnths, that is not enough time to say weather the stimulus has worked or not. We are in a recession, darn close to a major economic Depression, we cannot afford to make foolish decisions such as spending more money on a second stimulus bill. Here's a tip to Washington and the President wait until next Febuary which will be a full year then we can see what we need at that time.

Scott Stodden (Freeport,IL)

NO. It will kill the Dollar. Then the Jewish bankers will shove the Amero down our throats killing the dollar and the American economy. Lets wake up guys. We can not borrow money and ship jobs outside of the country at the same time. We need to do away with Kissinger policies.

A resounding NO! The federal government's first stimulus "package" is a glaring example of how bureaucracy is incapable of allocating resources – and is simply another failed attempt to fix something with money it doesn't have.

I think they went about it all wrong, and should re-think the plan. If they had bailed us out instead of the banks, to the tune of the bank bailouts, we would have been stimulating the economy in a way the banks never will. We’re not as greedy.

If the economy was a car, the republicans drove it without an oil change until the engine burned down. Now Obama the mechanic needs to replace the engine and needs more parts than originally estimated. Jack, the answer is yes, this car needs to run in order for us to get where we need to.

The talk about the "second stimulus" is simply another distraction. A low level advisor mentions this as a possible CONTINGENCY plan, as in, if the first one doesn't work, you know the one that HASN'T EVEN BEEN SPENT YET!

Unless the President comes out and recommends this, I would say this is yet another media created nontroversy.

It is easy to complain about the stimulus, but can we just WAIT AND SEE for a change instead of flying off the handle and complaining, which solves NOTHING!

No, the government should stop at this point. Let the chips fall where they may. They need to find a way to recover all the money they are spending and already spent.

60% of the first stimulus package isn't even supposed to be spent until 2010. In fact, only 5% of the first stimulus package has been spent so far, and there's already talk of a second one? How about we accelerate spending of the first package and spend 100% of it this year and then decide if it worked before borrowing even more money from China?

P.S. How long until the US credit rating tanks and China stops lending us money? What do we do then?

I'm a strong supporter of this administration and I believe that lots is needed to get the country out of the mess that it's in...however, I must say I'm really nervous about putting more money into an economy that's showing no signs of recovery.

It's like the old car problem, everytime you take it from the shop something else is wrong with it ...you keep putting more and more money into fixing it, but had ya just bought a new one, you would have saved more money.....

We keep trying to fix a broken economy, leave it alone it will come back on it's own..it always does...

I would say a big NO NO to giving away more money...

Absolutely not. The economy can be stimulated by increasing consumer confidence. I think the government can increase consumer confidence by balancing their own budget!

jack sure but give the money back to the tax payers and not the big wigs pat in columbia pa

I don't think this is the way to go. As much as I'd like a check we don't need to be using borrowed money to stimulate the economy. What happened to the line by line reduction in spending idea? There is so much militrary pork and war spending that could be used to move us away from fossil fuel dependance and toward green energy that could create jobs and stimulate the economy. The war mongering fossil fuel dinosaurs that want to continue to profit off of dirty energy and use the military industrial complex to perpetuate this dead end agenda need to go extinct.

Jack. Government need to reduce expenses 1st. Also Mr Obama has to show how the 1st stimulus package has worked or not with measurable data

Why throw good money after bad? The politicians didn/t get it right the first time. Let the people in Washington cut back on all their perks and see what it's like to live like the rest of us. Don't give them more money to spend foolishly.

Jack:
Sure, I'd like to see a second stimulus package; however, this time it will require more checks. Simply write each and every one of the approx. 300 Million Americans a check for $1,000,000.

Those that own a home could pay off their mortgage.
Those that don't own a home can now buy a home.

Anyone with a car older than 2 years would be required to buy a new car.
This could certainly help both the housing market and auto industry.
I think this is a much smarter and faster solution.
Steve, Phoenix

Jack,
Everyone seems to be forgetting about the elephant in the room, with the cost of the war going up every day, there will be no recovery til this issue is addressed...cost so far $685,264,582,255 just for Iraq. That's over $6000 per household. Until this is addressed, a stimulus is just a finger in the dyke.

No, not right now. It would really tick off the Republicans, and there's nothing I like better than to see Republicans frothing at the mouth, but, If I understand things now, all of the first stimulus money hasn't been dispersed. So, we should wait and see what happens to the economy in the coming months.

Jack,

The government should not consider another stimulus package. The
first one hasn't worked so why throw good money after bad. The economy wil eventually work itself out and maybe we americans will learn how to live within our means, spend less and save more. The federal government needs to learn to do the same.

Tracy
Hilliard, Ohio

If a second stimulus is earmarked for infrastructure and energy independence,maybe-but whatever happened to spending the other one wisely first? Where is our" czar"?

No, we can't afford another stimulus package especially when we haven't used the first one effectively. What we need to do is stop paying out services and benefits to people in the country illegally and stop bringing in millions of foreign workers every year to compete with American workers. Putting Americans to work first would be a heck of a start on the stimulus needed for this economy.

Absolutely not, spending what we didn't have is what got us into this mess in the first place. Taking from your right hand and giving to your left just moves things around, but doesn't help anybody except it gives the media something to talk about. Doesn't anybody in Congress or the government have any common sense? There are only so many pieces in a pie. The more you cut it up, the smaller the pieces are going to be.

Jack, we haven't passed a stimulus plan...we just misnamed the Pelosi- Reid revenge bill. It cant work because it creates more government and provides for little or no investment. Calling in the Chinese to help us with a real stimulus plan, canceling the revenge plan, lowering taxes on fist 250,000 and taking your advice to reduce government would do the trick.

I think a second stimulus package should go into affect and this time it should be for all the people that are really having a hard time like me. If the president really wants to see change in the economy put the money in pay checks or he can simply give it to me because I really need it.

only if they give it to the people this time. why should we want the banks to get more money they won't lend. the people need it NOW!!!!
we get the $$$, we spend it , helps everyone. if they get it, they keep it, helps no one (but themselves, of course). why is this so complicated for washington to figure out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and we voted these idiots into office?

The $13 per week per family does not seem to be working out. One big fat check might get things moving a bit more effectively – at least from the point of view of taking the pressure off of families who are behind on their bills. While this might not help consumer spending directly, it might help people breathe a bit easier if they are on the edge, effecting consumer confidence. Even if everyone gets current on a credit card or two, that can't but help ease the credit crisis and allow financial institutions to open the credit tap a bit wider.

Where the rest of the world is now concerned about the size of the federal deficit, considering a second stimulus package now is ludicrous. Whatever marginal gains, we get from any stimulus will now be offset by a loss of investor confidence in US dollar denominated assets, primarily treasuries. This in turn will not only increase the amount of money our government will need to borrow as bond markets slump, but then will make it concommitantly harder for state and local governments to borrow at all. The cost of good intentions may just sink us. Consequently, our cutting down the size of our 11 trillion dollar federal budget is our best and perhaps only option.

In plain English, No. Instead, why doesn't the government invest our taxpayer dollars in jobs it can create for us? Take our transportation system as an example; Europe and Japan, even India have better public transit systems than we do. If our government wants our economy to grow again, give our citizens something to do by creating jobs!

Lawrence, Kansas

Jack,

We don't need another tax funded package for our employees to use our money to buy their campaign reelection.

The only way I would even consider a 2nd stimulus package is if no politicians, lobbyist, or wall streeters were allowed anywhere near it.

We pay farmers not to grow crops. Maybe we should pay our employees to go home and stop mucking things up.

Stimulating the bad, failing businesses is (pardon the expression) bad business. Stimulating the good businesses so that they can expand and employ more taxpayers would probably be far more successful. It is time to let the good guys win for a change.

The financial corporations got us into this mess. Let them get us out of it.
Let anyone who wants to refinance their home do so. No questions asked.
Now that would be an immediate shot into the economy. And would help strapped families.
The trickle down theory hasn't worked yet. You'd think we'd learn.

I think we should give the first stimulas time to work. It was signed on Feb 17th and it has only been 4 months. 90% of the money has not even been spent. Everyone knows that jobs are a lagging indicator. After a recession ends, jobs are the last thing to turn around and this recession has not even ended yet. So what we need is a dose of patience and should ask ourselves what can we do to help our country get out of this mess. I believe that the stimulas will work and build a strong lasting economy (not pie in the sky)!

My husband has been out of work for two years and no one is hiring. There are no unemployment checks to collect and we live on my Disablility check. I'm sure we are not alone. Yes to the Question because these are un presidented times.

Not yet. This entire cycle has to run its course and we have done as much as we can at this point to get it turned around. It's going to take time to undo the Bush eight years. Roosevelt didn't fix Hoover's folly the first year either, it took several and WWII. Later this year would be better for another Stimulus. Package.

I strongly feel as do all other americans, that if they want to stimulate the economy with a 2nd package they should give to each US citizen only, 18 and older $1,000,000.00. It would be cheaper for us and would most certainly stimulate the economy. After we pay the taxes on the money, people would buy homes, cars, pay off excisting debt, and also invest. Or is the government affraid to have that many millionairs in fear that the elite group would then have some compition?

Not right now. Let's have some research done on how well the first package worked and hold those in positions to implement it accountable for its' success or failure.

We don’t need another stimulus until just before the next midterm elections. Then the poor, elderly and needy in this country will see who really cares about them.

Jerry@Mississippi

The Obama Administration NEVER said that the stimulus would keep unemployment from rising over 8%.

That claim is just MEDIA SPIN of a PREINAUGURAL Report that was based on a FICTIONAL stimulus package, not the one that actually passed!

Not only that, but it states CLEARLY in the report that the numbers were only estimates, that they would evolve, and that unemployment could go as high as 11%!

Jack, PLEASE correct the record on this!

YES. This time the STIMULUS money should go directly to UNEMPLOYED people. At present I am an unemployed citizen. I heard from lot of people that the stimulus money help in modifying my home loan so that I can reduce my monthly payment. I thought this is definitely a good help from the government. But it is NOT that easy to get this modification program. I have to run around every where to get any information about this and I am really frustrated about this. We all are hard working citizens and because of the Financial institution mess up, the common people have to undergo financial hardship and not getting any help from the government.

We should definitely not have another stimulus package until the money from the first stimulus plan is alocated and working. It seems to me we should be successfully using that money prior to even considering another stimulus. We need to end all wars, get our soldiers home, and stop unnessary spending. We need a reasonable, balanced budget and live within our means.

No, Jack. The first stimulus package hasn't nearly been paid out yet. Give it a little more time before calling for more debt.

I'm not sure about a second stimulus, but how about repealing the remains of the first one and starting all over again. After all, since the Pelosi-Reed takeover of government has missed the true Middle Class, how about a true transparent stimulus for the rest of us. The banks have had a big slice, GM and Chrysler have had a big slice, but I am a Ph.D. teacher in the public schools here in South Florida, straining to help improve a pitiful system of so-called education, and I have struggled to survive two job-cut rounds, and two years of no raise in spite of the collapse of the economy (meaning the deflation of my retirement fund), and I was supposed to feel like Mr. Obama cares about me with that $14 per month? If given to every man, woman, and child in the US, (at 350 million of us), this amount would equal roughly $2,100. However, they don't want us to pay off our credit cards or buy a few items to improve our household. They want credit companies (rotten banks) to lend more, so that we can fall deeper in debt!! All this to prop them up while we sink. With a Ph.D., I live in a two room rental, just so that I can have enough cash to save for my retirement and perhaps buy a few songs from iTunes. I'm not a rabid republican, but I am a disgruntled American. Where's the help for the schools? For teachers? Books for kids? Oh well, just as we thought, it's business as usual.

The only thing the stimulus package and the Wall Street bailout did was stimulate the unemployment lines. Some of that money needs to go to the state departments of unemployment to extend benefits. I just filed a couple of weeks ago, and I get a whopping $77 per week...maybe!

Jack, if a SECOND stimulus is passed, you can put your money all in one basket and bet it ALL, and I do mean ALL, on ONE horse. That horse's name is REVOLUTION!!! Bet on it. Count on it. Americans ARE NOT going to take the incompetence that is being shown by their so-called "representatives" anymore. Maybe they sat idle during the Great Depression and waited for their government to help fix things. This time will be different. Most Americans DON'T trust or believe their representatives at any level. There is too much corruption for anyone to believe anything anymore. It's time for AMERICANS to take their country back from the bankers and the corporations.

Jack: What will happen if we do nothing like the past 8 years that started this mess????? THE USA having a crisis like California??

They certainly need to consider it.
However as of June 26 only $56.3 Billion has been paid out according to the Recovery.gov web site. That is less than 8% of the total money approved by the bill. On the bad side that is only 36% of what was planned to be spent by that date.
The 1980 recession saw unemployment at over 10% for 10 months and lasted 35 months (with 10.8 % unemployment the highest in the last month of the recession).
This recession is said to be worse so why should we expect things to be solved only 20 months in with little being done during the first 13 months – The last year of Bush 43.

By all means , the government should consider another stimulus package.

And this time, they need to consider sending OUR money to US! The citizens!

I think that if every single citizen would receive a check for about $10,000 (maybe $5,000 for kids), that would stimulate the devil out of the economy, because we would all be out there spending like there was no tomorrow.

Of course, at the rate we are going now there might well BE no tomorrow. But like Scarlett O'hara, tomorrow's another day!

Giving the stimulus money to the greedy corporations didn't stimulate anything but their bottom line!

The only program that should continue to be funded are unemployment benefits, as it will be a long, long time before most Americans get to go back to work.

The demand for instant gratification is what got us into this difficulty. Anyone that knows anything about economics knows that any corrective actions taken by monetary authorities does not have instant results. There is a significant time lag endemic to the system. There must be a measured correction the obtain a measured response and the results that you wish to achieve are always in jeopardy of unanticipated events that may occur during the time lag. Your question puts me in mind of a person with a migraine. Not satisfied that the aspirin is working fast enough he keeps taking more until he requires treatment for an overdose.

A hammer is not one of the tools required when fine tuning your car or anything else for that matter except, perhaps, a bell

Jack, I am for a second stimulus package: For the working class in this country only!! Those brain dead morons in congress on BOTH sides of the aisle could not run a lemonade stand! they bail out banks, incompetent ceo's in the banking and auto industry and let us eventually paying for all of this. We now need to remind congress to get their head out of their butts and start working for the middle men and women who built this country in the first place. And also remind them that we have military personell overseas that protect us every day and night to enjoy the freedom that the congressional leaders have simply forgotten

Absolutely not. We dont have the money to pay for it. Its obvious the first stimulus was a waste of 800 billion, we dont need to waste any more.

If there is, my mortgage had better get paid off! Bailed out the biggest banks & ins company, car manufacturers, who knows what other companies the Fed bailed out – still haven't fixed the mtg/credit/toxic assets problem.....I've been one of the 'good mortgage holders/payers' & I want my stimulus(mortgage paid in full) ASAP; the lunch money O gaves us as a tax relief(only thru this year, of course) just doesn't cut it. After the 2nd stimulus pays off my mortgage, I will spend my hard-earned $$ to keep the current Congress members from being elected again! This group in Washington are worthless!

Absolutely no more stimulus packages. Are these politicians in favor all brain dead? Or are we 'salting' the home state for easy withdrawal when we lose our government job?? Our jails are too few to hold all of these scumbags who are dead to interests which may be needed to help this coun try flourish once again.. Eugene, Oregon

I think the original stimulus bill proposal was for much more than our legislators were willing to pass right? Perhaps had they passed what was ask for in the first place without all the restrictions that the house and senate put on it there would be no need for a second one. The Republicans were hoping by now the Democrats would have screwed up so bad the second one had no chance of passing and they could scream "I told you so". I think we need to elect some really smart, well educated, well rounded, logical thinking people as our representatives and do away with all the old white men who seem to enjoy nothing more than dashing every hope of coming together and getting all these problems solved that we ever had.

I would support a second stimulus if the money went directly to the people. Quit giving money to the banks and to Wall Street. The trickle-down idea has not worked, so instead, let's try the trickle-up theory. Tim Geitner does not know what he is doing and there are no so-called experts who do. Give each head-of-household $5,000 and they will spend it on a car, a house payment or pay some of their credit card bills.

Hey Jack
Last Package I received from the bush aminstration allow me to purchase this 42 inch Plasma TV to stimulate the economy. I wouldn't mind another Check this time around. Now I get to you see you and Wolf Clearly now everyday since I lost my job. Unfortunately it's an good investment then. Now that I have to sell it to pay . I'll miss you and wolf.

No more spending! Government tells us to spend wisely and use existing resources, they should do the same. If they actually spend time and energy to work to improve existing healthcare, energy, education, environment... with existing resources it would create new and better jobs and money. If they can't set the good example why in the world should they expect anyone else to follow them which creates even more hardship and chaos!

Consider? Yes. For those of us in the trenches, it would be nice to see more works programs. If Obama becomes as great as FDR we will give him an acronym BHO...granted it kind of sounds like a rock band.

The problem is that we are the greatest "instant gratification" country in the world. We were told that it would take time for this stimulus package to work. It has only been four months. We also know that the employment figures lag behind other indicators indicating wether the economy is improving. This is just the Republicans wanting to say Obama is a failure, and the media more than happy to follow those idiots that put us into this mess in the first place.

Where I live in Florida the unemployment rate has continued to grow over the past four months as well as home foreclosures. Obviously the enormous amount of money our government threw at this problem has yet to show a positive effect on our economy- so why would anyone want to continue with that strategy? Oh wait- I bet I know... somewhere, someone who doesn't need or deserve "stimulus" is profiting from this money... and by the time it filters down to the local government level there is too little left to make any kind of real difference... politics as usual... unfortunately it is our kids who will be the ones left to pay for our governments mistakes.

Lets see – The phase "throw good money after bad" mean anything to you?

The government should consider abolishing the Federal Reserve and downsizing itself.

Over the last 100 years, the value of the dollar has dropped, and government has grown into a juggernaut.

The working class pays taxes with a devalued currency. How does this make sense?

Then they talk about a second stimulus. We need new parties and new ideas.

Dave-Pennsylvania

are you kidding? we're up to our necks in debt and some want to pile on even more?

Jack, between the Blue Dog Democrats and the Republican negotiations in bad faith, the guts were ripped from the origional stimulus for America and Americans.
I will be donating to any blue dog primary challengers even if the challengers don't make it.
We must stand up for equal rights for citizens, not just riches for financials and insurance.

Excuse me. Had the democrats not squandered the original intent of the stimulis package I might go for it. But instead of using it to stimulate they used to to pay off democrat wish lists from days gone by. This is Obama''s economy and it's FAILING. The "we didn't know" excuse will no fly. You want the economy to improve? Drastically cut spending by government and follow that with tax cuts to those remaioning few of us who are paying taxes. That will get things going.

Jack:

No for another "stimulus" package ! It is like realizing they are kicking a dead horse so (as a politicians ) they reason there is no choice but to get off and shoot it ! The government is more irresponsible with spending borrowed money than the unemployed.

NO, take all the money that has yet to be dispersed and instead hand a million dollars to everyone who filed federal taxes and that will stimulate the economy. Creditors would be paid from the total automatically and the rest could be used for savings, restaurants and vacations. The economy would roar and the total cost would come to less than $260 million dollars. That's million not trillion Jack.

The other trillions we planned to spend could be used for deficit reduction and medicare for the coming baby boomer explosion.

Problem solved.

Yep. It's needed. Let's hope this one doesn't get watered down by the Republicans like the first one did.

Sure, jack... The bankers and their lawyers have spent the first stimulus package and are in need of some more cash. Another trillion or so should be enough. Should put some jingle back in the pocket of these guys, I mean the economy,

Are you kidding???? I vote NO!!!!

Nope! Just seize the assets of the GOP robber barons who fleeced this nation over the last 8 years.

HD in Phoenix

I don't want one cent of my tax dollars to go towards stimulus. I'm thriving just fine on my own.

Jack: Shouldn't your question read "should the Government pass a THIRD stimulus package?" Seems to me President Bush, Secretary Paulson, and the Republicans passed the first one, making sure that Paulson could have full control over it. What I'm wondering is why didn't Paulson get a big medal from President Bush when he obviously did such a "heck of a job!"

Hi Jack, love your piece on CNN. I voted for Obama and would again, but the stimulis package has some basic problems. I am unemployed and now so is my spouse. The problem is, although we seem to have plenty of food from the food stamp bump, we still have to feed our dogs people food because those in charge are afraid we are going to eat dog food. (Honey would you rather have steak and lobster or dog food?) We need some help with our bills and can find none. We get three answers, the first two are questions. Number one is, are you a minority? our response is does it matter and the response we get is no are you a minority? The problem here is obvious! Number two is, do you have a job? No, then we can't help you. The problem here is obvious! Number three is we help people with thier bills but are out of money. The problem here is obvious!
If we are going to get more (stimulis money) it needs to help people in trouble, not people with jobs or banks. I would love a real grant to start a small catering business.

NO NO NO,

Let business fail if it can't keep up. Lazy business practices and greed got us into this mess. Why should my children be loaded down with the payment for this money the government is throwing out the window.

If stimulus has to happen then give it directly back to the people. Let's say in a big $50,000 chunk to each person. Then tax it. That $25,000 remaining would be plenty, in many cases, to pay off car, house, or student loans. That would free up hundreds of dollars each month, for the average person, to invest, save, or buy more stuff.

My kids don't want to be thousands of dollars MORE in debt before they are even born...

@Carl D.

It's nice rhetoric to say that politicians need to be cut, but the money you're talking is not even a blip on the radar of the total budget.

Yes but, give it to us citizens and not the banks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We need a better, more targeted, stimulus plan not the Pelosi-generated special interest give-away the first one is. Let the Treasury Secretary propose a plan that will actually fix the problem soon without letting congressfolks of both parties lard on the pork to get it passed. That would be change I can believe in.

Jack, how long can business' survive while not selling to their regular customers that have no money, no job, an no hope of audacious policies and ideas put forth into laws supporting the previously middle class and poor people of America.

Why not, they are giving money to everyone else. Now the President is giving scholarships to Italians, when Americans can't afford an education. Personally I think the government should stop handing out money and start collecting on all the imports which caused us to loose our jobs. Charge a tarriff equal to the cost of making it in the United States. Those with money will still buy it, the rest of us without jobs, well it doesn't matter we can't buy either way.

Gee, do we even get a choice????

If so, I choose to cancel the remainder of the first one!

I think we should take a wait and see attitude. A lot of the money from the first package has not been spent yet. Let's spend it first and see what the results are before we think about another package.

NO. NO. NO.

The definition of insanity is repeating a specific set of actions and expecting a different set of outcomes.

We must allow institutions and individuals to fail! It is the only way we can maintain our connection to reality. People will suffer and it is very sad, agonizing even, but we must allow it to occur.

Yes I think a second stimulus is needed this time, the taxpayers should receive some relief in the form of a tax rebate/stimulus check – the consumers in our country are struggling to make ends meet, more so than some of the mutil-billion dollar companies like banks or automakers. Give the people a check...give the people a check....

NO MORE STIMULUS MONEY! the nation is bankrupt! stop giving away money to companies that were not reponsible to manage the money they had. if these companies deserve to survive they will. let the market decide. that is capitalism. keep the government out of the decision. and KEEP THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF MY DOCTOR OFFICE! i do not need the government telling my doctor what he can and cannot provide me. that choice is between me and my doctor

NO, What is the purpose of a "stimulus package". If it is to stimulate the economy then we have yet to see the results of the first one. If is a liberal's way to expand the government at least be honest about it and stop playing with the hearts & minds of the people effected by this recession.

Yes. Unfortunately, more is needed.

Harvey
Wayland, MA

The president should start calling the governors and the mayors as he said he would do to know what happens to the first stimulus before start considering a second stimulus package, otherwise we could say he really does not know what he is doing

Yes. They need to start sending money to every home. I need a stimulus package as soon as possible to pay my bills and go on vacation.

Jack, has Obama said that he wants a second stimulus? No. Has the administration said they want a second stimulus? No. Only a small portion of the first one has been spent so far. Why? Because if they just throw it out there, it will be spent on crap & then y'all will complain about that. What the media is doing is making things worse - you can't follow the economy day by day - it's like following the stock market day by day. That leads to bad decisions. Check back in 6 months.

The cost of the stimulus package already exceeds what the country can afford. We cannot justify any additional stimulus, whatsoever, as to do so, would simply bankrupt the country.

The only thing that is truly going to help, is to have government intervene in the sending off shore, of our manufacturing. If we make nothing, then we have no jobs, no income, and no future. Simple as that.

This one is simple to answer. NO, NO, NO! How can they even suggest such a thing!

If we need to invest more money, then let’s invest in ourselves. The Stimulus is not a spending program. You spend money on things like war. This is an investment in our economy and our future. Investment had expected returns. If we had started investing in September with the realty bust, our economy would not be on in such horrible shape.
Further, too many people are accustomed to instant gratification. Investments don’t work that way, as anyone with any common sense would know. On the other hand, I’ve been telling people for years that there is nothing common about common sense. By the way, unless I’m mistaken not all of the first stimulus money has been spent. Let’s give this thing the needed time and funds.

If there is to be any talk about further stimulus at this point it should be 100% targeted to job creation. Put in place bold incentives that make companies get off their collective posteriors and start hiring. In fact I would take it one step further by actually making it cost companies NOT to hire.
The next stimulus package needs to be completely focused to putting people back to work. Period.

No we definately don't need it but the democrats in power are just dumb enough to think we do. I guess obama must have missed paying some of his handlers the first time around.

Yeah – sure – let's spend 10 trillion dollars. Or better yet, why not 20? It's not like the U.S. Treasury even had the FIRST 800 Billion, so why not just print up enough so that everyone in the U.S. is a multimillionaire and the problem will be solved.

How long is it going to take (and how much inflationary money) before the fools in D.C. understand that you CANNOT spend your way out of financial trouble. It doesn't work for individuals, or businesses, or governments. It's absolutely stupid.

No. Absolutely not! Because the banks have done nothing at all with what was given to them. They are not lending, they are not modifying loans, people are still in foreclosure. The banks are not recinding in original loans.

People, get it right: The $787 Billion stimulus gave NOTHING to corporations. The stimulus was the one that was packed with 9,500 pork projects.

TARP and PPIP were the programs for corporations.

I don't think another stimulus is needed and didn't believe the first one just have been issued. But a more pressing question might be, "Who will pay for a second stimulus?"

You can't expect foreign countries to continue to buy U.S. debt when the U.S. has no way to repay them.

No! We are in enough of a financial hole. That stimulus had a ton of wasteful pork spending and it's not doing anyone any real good. Stop heaping more harm on the country as a whole with wasteful spending.

Dumb dumb dumb!!!!!

The rebate checks last summer was a dumb idea. The TARP was about 50% wasteful (the basic bank stabilization $$ was okay), The Auto bail out was a waste, The so-called stimulus bill was never really stimulus but rather democratic pork, now being diverted by states for ongoing operations. Cap and trade is an awful tax increase at a bad time. Letting the Bush tax cuts expire during a recession is a mistake. Even healthcare reform is an expensive extravagance that we cannot afford.

Basically most of what Bush did and everything Obama has done has only served to harm our economy....We are borrowing from our children and grand children because we refuse to live in a financially responsible (or realistic) way. Very sad, very sad.

We need a 3rd party alternative who is committed to financial responsiblity.

Even if we wanted to where are we going to get the money. By passing a second stimulus package we are going to destroy this country. At that point it doesn't even matter what the Bush administration did, the deep crisis this country will be in will be because of a lack of common sense on the democrats part. Lets spend the first stimulus before we think about digging a bigger hole. If they even try to pass a second one you can count on the democrats losing the midterm elections and it might even be to a third party.

You must be kidding?!? Another "stimulus" package? NO WAY!!!! I've been stimulated enough, thank you. I say get rid of EVERY politician in Washington NOW. There isn't one, Rep or Dem, who is interested in anything but themselves, their own jobs and perks and getting re-elected. They all puport to be for America and it's citizens but their actions, and in some cases lack of action, prove otherwise every time.

Say what you will about Bush, but he inherited a recession as well but unemployment never got this bad. Maybe, just maybe a stimulus package that focuses on the most productive sector of the economy (i.e. a tax cut) rather than the least productive (pork for politician's pals) would have been a better way to go. It worked in 2001/2, didn't it?

Too bad the government doesn't have a clicker, because it's time to change the channel. Let's hand out billions, stand around and cross our fingers, hoping that we guessed right? I've seen this story before, and am quite bored with the same old re-runs. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, then expecting a different result. I thought mabey we were doing something different last November, but am sad to find that the song remains the same.

For the life of me I don't know. My husband was layed off in January, he has been applying for jobs all over town to no avail. If there was a guarantee that a 2nd stimulus would work maybe I'd consider it.. What I really wonder is where all of this money is coming from? It looks like we're robbing Peter to pay Paul, all of us know this never works.

They just need to release the 90% that they haven't released yet. And do it now, not later.

Only a liberal could think that raising taxes in a terrible economy would stimulate growth. Raising taxes to stimulate the economy is like trying to lift a bucket while standing inside of it. How is it that liberals apparently slept through every economics class in college?

Yes I think there should be and it should go directly to the taxpayer's and not like the last one a measly $600 per person this one should be at the least $1500 per person so people can pay some of thier bills and have extra money to spend to actually stimulate the economy instead of us puttting our hard earned money into some bank executive's pocket so he can have a lavish retirement .

A second stimulus? Why should we have a second stimulus when the first one didn't work. Throwing more and more money at this thing isn't going to fix it. Just like a Democrat to think like this. They couldn't get the first one to work so now they want to do the same thing again. Hey wait a minute, where have I heard this before? Oh yeah, this is kind of what Bush said a few years back.
And this is change?
Thanks Democrats for sticking to the same ol' tactics. Shouldn't be long now before the Republicans are back in charge with the way you guys are handling things.
Can you say Third Party?

Lets see, I put stuff on my credit card without having the means to pay it back. So this is ok for the govt to do??

You spent all this money, it didn't work...you blame the GOP for everything, that won't help anything....you need to cut spending and fast before its too late!

Jack,

All we heard from President Obama and Vice President Biden was that our economy would not survive if we did not pass the present stimulus bill. Also, remember Jack when they told us that we were in the worst economy downturn since the GREAT DEPRESSION. Obama & Biden are now saying that they underestimated the severity of the situation. Liars!

Sure, let's bust the bank and have $3 trillion dollar deficit this year. Heck, why not $4 trillion. That way, we can double the national debt before the midterm elections. Since such vast amounts of debt don't seem to scare anybody, let's go for it.

It is pretty much understandable that the Americans are getting tired
and running out of patience about how the economy is going. After
all, the middleclass and the lower income have suffered enough after
eight years of the Bush administration.And I and a lot of others that
I know can attest to that. My personal income had been cut almost
in half for how many years now,since I could'nt get a full time job after
the place where I worked phased out our department and laid off al-
most all the employees in the entire company. Surely, this much da-
mage to the economy for so long, cannot be turned around in just
a matter of months. Of course the power grab from the Republicans
is alive and well, so they always have to help themselves minute by
minute to jump at a chance to attack the Obama adminisration that
nothing is working. We all know, that we have heard that tune before
during the Clinton years. Lo and behold it turned out to be the best
economic times we have ever had with a big surplus to boot.

Jack,

All of the world's problems are the result of Republicans. The fact that the Democratic controlled government has failed with this effort clearly is the fault of the Republicans. It's OK, we will just borrow in infinite amount of money, and there is no such thing as inflation. In fact, inflation would reduce the national debt because dollars would be worth nothing. There is no reason why every American isn't entitled to a high paying, low skilled job, except for Republicans because this is all their fault. I think out of sheer spite, emotion, and anger we should spend ourselves into oblivion.

Yes....by all means let's just keep printing more money. Then someday we can be like Zimbabwe....you know Jack....where it takes $1,000,000 dollars to buy a loaf of bread. That would be such a special robust economy wouldn't it?

This was already the second stimulus. We had one under Bush and one under Obama. But, no, they shouldn't consider a "second." Not yet. We were told this would take time to work. And there are other financial measures they're trying to put in place that will bolster our economy, including health care reform. We need to take more time and see how the real second stimulus, credit card reform, energy reform and health care reform pan out a little bit before they start thinking about another stimulus package.

We should wait until the Fall and reassess the situation. It's way too early to claim the stimulus "failed" when only 10 percent of the money has been released and many of the building contracts have only recently been signed.

No. We do not need a second stimulus now. We haven't even spent hardly 10% of the present stimulus package that we already have. This money needs to be expedited out more quickly so that jobs can be created and maintained as it was promised. I know things take time, but it is still moving too slowly,

What ever happened to the stimulus bill not being used by individual states to pay down their debts? Kentucky's doing it. Out of the 3 billion being alllocated to it, over 740 million is being used to pay down debt. I don't see this as being used for job creation or stimulating our state economy. If this money is not supposed to be used by the states in this manner, then why is it going on?

About California's problems. No city should be asking for individual volunteers to pay for a celebrity's funeral when the surviving family and the owner of the facility who hosted it should be responsible for it. The city as well as the state is in dire financial straits. It isn't right to ask this of people.

We do not need to approve anymore stimulus funds. Spend what we already have allocated wisely and expedite it.

If it is passed i fear that there will be too much backlash. It would give the Republicans support and that is never a good thing.

Sure, let's help the people out, isn't that what the rainy day fund is for? What? No rainy day fund? Trillions in debt? If only we could have balanced the budget in the good times so we had money to use now... Maybe the inevitable hurt from the government's intervention and intrusion will finally spur the electorate to vote against all the deficit spenders in DC. Wait, who am i kidding, let's blame Bush!

Yes....and here it is!!

Offer everyone in the workforce over the age of 50 one million dollars on the following conditions:

1- They leave their current jobs thereby creating a huge hiring market.

2- They must pay off their mortgage which would end the housing crisis

3- they must buy a new car which would solve the problems US car makers are facing.

Its a much cheaper way out then what has been done so far and has immediate impact on everyone.

Yes but only for people..not companies...not states...not businesses.

Not if it goes to corporations. If there is a stimulus package it should go directly to the citizenry. Our own spending and catching up on debt would do the most to spur the economy. The reason the economy is hurting is because spending is down. Giving money to the citizens would be the quickest way to push this money back into the economy.

What the government needs to do is back off and let the market take care of itself. Government influence with AIG alone has resulted in a less than stellar turnaround. If a business is managed badly, it needs to fail and not be bailed out with our tax dollars.

Forget it. Stimulus sound great but does anyone really know what type of expenditures would have a meaningful impact. Also, I'm getting tired of the "reasonable people will have reasonable differences of opinion" pablum dished to the masses. It's either a way to explain away ignorance or an excuse of basal self-interest.
We worry about how people will suffer if we don't do something. What level of suffering is coming 10-20 years down the road when the bill comes due?

If anyone can come up with an alternative, I'm all ears. Some shout "cut the size of Government," but that just means even more layoffs.
I don't think that there are any other ways out of this mess.

Jack, does it really matter? We had a total collapse of our financial markets. We are giving (bailing out) the banks money so that they can loan it back to us, how ridiculous is that? A new stimulus package is just a bandaid on a festering wound. A new system has to be employed because the old one doesn't work.

Sounds like all these responses plus the lack of "NON-ACTION" from a president who promised everything under the sun has come full circle. Democrat answers to everything is to spend, Republican answers to everything is to not spend...how about a third opinion – maybe let's say agreeing on something and moving in a clear direction?

Another stimulus would do a few things:
(1) Draw out recession
(2) End recession with a hit to our kids and grand kids plus possibility of another dip in the economy
(3) Put America in a pile higher and deeper in our debt...

Maybe our wonderful and polarizing president who loves to enjoy TV cameos and interviews can actually do something for a chance. The last election had NO good candidates and we need a hero not a wannabe who happens to be a Zero!

Of course we should... Heck, why don't we spend all the taxpayers money and then some. Why not? I mean the amateurs who are in the White House are bound to make trillions of dollars worth on mistakes before they realize they made a mistake.

By the way, this has nothing to do with republicans or democrates. This has everything to do with mortgaging the future of this country. But why should I care if Obama the saviour doesn't.