Will the U.S. Budget Deal Kick the Recovery into High Gear?

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/us/po ... .html?_r=0

One of the obstacles to a robust recovery in the U.S. was the political uncertainty surrounding Washington. Government shutdowns are not a great way to encourage consumers to spend or businesses to invest, particularly if either has anything to do with any level of government. Threatening to default on our debt frankly scares investors from our shores, and if a default happened, would probably destroy the world financial system.

Now that a budget is pretty much a done deal, I'm optimistic. Two years of guarenteed funding should at least give the perception of government stability, at least for long enough to elect a new Congress that may show more genuine leadership. On top of that, U.S. households have just recovered all of the net worth lost in the Great Recession, and businesses still have trillions of dollars of cash on their books.

I am optimistic this budget deal is what is needed to get businesses and households to start spending some of that cash and equity they now have. Thoughts?U.S. Senate Ends Budget Debate

I fail to see how accelerating government spending can do anything more than give the appearance of getting better.

What we need is a sound economy. Massive deficits resulting in taking more and more money away from businesses and citizens isn't going to accomplish this.

No.
More smoke & mirrors.

The so called "recovery" has been an illusion.

Anyway, a government doesn't really directly control the economy.

No it won't. It will not affect the way our borrowing outruns our productivity.

It is just more political posturing.

ruveyn

The deal fails to extend unemployment benefits, so none of that money will get spent immediately. That kind of government spending produces immediate economic improvement, so its withdrawal will hurt the economy. If those people just starve and die (like Ryan and his ilk would prefer), that will lower the unemployment rate. A lower unemployment rate will make the economy seem stronger.

The deal fails to close any tax loopholes and increases military spending, so the rich and politically connected will benefit from it. That doesn't represent any kind of change, though, because the rich have continued to get richer throughout this crisis and none of it has trickled down (and it never will).

This appears to be another case of the Democrats snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, again. Nothing could have helped their chances in the next election more than letting the Tea Party shut down the government again. This deal prevents that from happening, and I don't really understand how the left gains from it. They let the unemployment issue go, they let Head Start go unfunded, and they threw federal employees under the bus again.

Two years to the next election, Congress is as popular as sewers, and the American People are questioning everything.

They are trying to show they are a functioning government, but they have not been in years.

A little to the left, cutting back on food stamp cuts, that were just cut. A little to the right, 32 Billion to the war machine, and the trillion a year from the Fed to the Banks continues, so they can buy the stock market, which is a government pension fund.

Millions still unemployed, houses still underwater, no one has had a raise in years, record numbers living on food stamps, where the economy touchs the people, nothing has changed.

The people do not own stocks, sell raw materials to China, or fix the rates of inflation and interest. Those that do are doing very well. Those that are working, are living on less, have higher debt, and lower net worth.

For the vast majority there has not been a recovery. The government continues to spend more than it takes in, and can never stop, We have A Government Bubble. All bubbles pop.

The only thing moving into high gear are the lies told.