Introduction
When President Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and took office in 2009, the US was facing one of the greatest financial crisis in the world. The crisis is said to be the worst that the country has experienced since the Second World War (Herszenhorn). In order to deal with the crisis, President Obama and other leaders (democrats) came up with what is referred to as the economic stimulus package.
According to Herszenhorn, the stimulus package will not only help to save but also create millions of jobs for the American population. In addition, it will provide them with effecient tax cuts. The package worth 789 billion dollars is also to be invested in such sectors as energy, infrastructure, education, health and science and technology (Herszenhorn & Hilse). According to Ohlemacher, the package was proposed as a way of directly infusing money into the economy so as to bring it out of the recession it is currently undergoing. Enacting the bill will make it the largest economy bail out plan in US history.
Main body
Nonetheless, there has been mixed reactions about the package. While some are optimistic that the package will work and that the effects might even trickle down to the rest of the world, there are others who are openly skeptical. The republics are openly against the plan calling it a waste and saying it is likely to increase the national debt (Herszenhorn). Still, like President Obama said, the American people did not send him into white to do nothing. President Obama and the Democratic Party who proposed the stimulus plan have been openly clear that it will not be a quick fix. Even with the interventions by the government, the economy might still take long to fully recover (Ohlemacher). While there is a possibility that the package may not really work, things may just get worse if nothing is done. Therefore it is better to have the package in place.
Thus, as much there are skepticism about the plan, there is a very good chance that the package is likely to succeed. Some of the proposed measures are very good (Teslik). In the plan it is estimated that three million new jobs may be created through investments in crucial sectors as infrastructure. The GDP will be stimulated to start growing over the next few years and money will be placed in people’s pockets through tax cuts, tuition and tax credits (Herszenhorn & Hilse). As opposed to waiting for things to get worse, the plan is likely to stimulate the already slumped economic activity. This way, the government will not have to keep borrowing and spending so as to the keep the economy going. While there is no sure way that the package is openly viable on the long term, it is evident that on the short term the plan will work. (Cohan) For instance, investing in infrastructure, roods and bridges is a good plan for the simple fact that there cannot be development with poor infrastructure. Broad band in schools will definitely pay off in the future and the implementation of information technology in health care will help to greatly enhance its effectiveness. The greatest plan is investments on alternative energy. With the constant fluctuations in the oil prices, what America needs is to free itself from its reliance and dependence on gas and oil (Cohan).
Stimulus bills have been adopted in the US since the 1960’s. While some worked others did not. According to Cohan, the reason why some failed is because policy makers took too long to act and some of the actions were not properly targeted. The stimulus bill seems to be properly targeted. The only drawback was the skepticism of the republicans who were delaying the passing of the legislation. However, that is behind us now since the democrats were able to pass the bill without their support (Herszenhorn & Hilse).
Conclusion
In the end the only thing left to do is agree with the stimulus plan. At the very least it offers hope to the grim situation but it definitely is not a quick fix. While the economy might take long to recover and things may get worse before they get better, the plan is better than sitting back and watching the economy collapse. The economy did not slump overnight and therefore the recovery will not occur overnight. The plan has definite potential as it is dealing with the situation now as opposed to waiting for later.
References
Cohan, Peter. ‘Economic stimulus plan has 50%chance of working’. Blogging Stocks. 2009. Web.
Herszenhorn, David. ‘Senate passes stimulus plan’. International Herald Tribunal. 2009. Web.
Herszenhorn, David & Hulse, Carl. ‘Deal reached on US stimulus plan’. International Herald Tribunal. 2009. Web.
Ohlemacher, Stephen. ‘Democrats: Stimulus no quick fix for the economy’. Associated Press. 2009.Web.
Teslik, Lee Hudson. ‘Backgrounder: The US economic stimulus plan’. New York Times. 2009.