Posted on 02/25/2008 5:12:03 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush believes it is too early to decide whether a second economic stimulus package is needed to ward off a recession but would not rule it out, governors who met with him said on Monday.
After a $152 billion package was signed into law earlier this month, U.S. governors during a White House meeting pressed Bush to back another stimulus plan that would include funding for roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects.
They argued that such a program would address unemployment and put the economy on a more sustainable path of growth.
"We suggested a $12 billion infusion into the states, for water projects, for roads, for bridges; again, to build our economy for the future but to put people to work today," Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, told a news conference.
"I think I can summarize his remarks best by saying he didn't think he would be interested," she said.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, also a Democrat, said his state has 50 or more infrastructure projects the state could begin working on in 30 to 90 days, if only the federal government would provide matching funds.
Concerns about a recession have grown in U.S. states, with 21 states projecting budget gaps, the liberal-leaning Center on Budget Policy and Priorities reported on Monday.
As economists poured more cold water on the state of the U.S. economy, governors acknowledged that they received an unenthusiastic reception to the idea of a second stimulus shot and the White House said they wanted the first package to have time to work.
PRESIDENTS SAYS 'PREMATURE'
"The president said it would be premature, he didn't rule it out, but he also did not embrace the idea of what that would look like and what the contents would be," Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty said at the White House after the meeting.
To head off a recession, Bush signed into law earlier this month legislation offering tax incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment as well as sending out rebate checks worth up to $600 per individual and $1,200 per family.
"The president ... had an open mind when he listened to them, but he did say he was very concerned about any proposal that would raise taxes," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters after the meeting.
She questioned whether the infrastructure projects would help the economy in the short term and instead pointed to $152 billion package approved already. "We think that that was sufficient," Perino said.
Talk of a second stimulus package comes as economic prognosticators offered a dimmer outlook for the first half of this year and prospects for a recession.
The National Association for Business Economics released a new survey that found 45 percent of economists surveyed believed that a recession will have occurred by the end of the year, while 55 percent said a downturn would be relatively mild.
They forecast 2008 gross domestic product to expand by 1.8 percent, down significantly from the 2.6 percent growth projected in the survey taken in November.
Somewhere, the light is still burning... Else, why doesn’t government establish a “permanent stimulus package”, just so economy doesn’t go off kilter and they would have to do an “emergency stimulus package”...
An ounce of prevention, so to speak... Sheesh.
Do the Governors really believe that the money for these things would NOT come out of the pockets of taxpayers in their own states?
the best permanent stimulus package would be a commitment towards a sound dollar
they want the credit for the projects without the blame for the tax increase.
Well I don’t know about everywhere else but in California that would only benefit the state’s departments and government workers.
Gregoire is up for re-election and the Republicans are making her failures on transportation issues the key campaign point. For instance, the Democrats have been arguing over a bridge that needs rebuilding for the whole four years that she has been in office. Our ferries have been allowed to deteriorate to the point that they had to take a couple of them off line and switch some of them around to accommodate routes, even though the money to fix the ferries or begin to build new ones was appropriated in 2003. The Democrat legislature spent the money on something else, though.
So now, Gregoire thinks this is New Orleans and the federal government should bail her out.
But why send the money to Washington DC only to have 1/3 of it sucked into the Federal bureaucracy. Collect it here and spend it here.
Governors Pork barrel projects.
Jeepers, didn't the states just get about $15 billion in porkbarrel earmarks?
If people spend some of GW's $152 billion economic stimulus giveaway, how much would that be for state sales tax?
yitbos
We’ve got enough roads and bridges. They already spend way too much of the taxpayer’s money on that. If they need more roads and bridges, the logical way to fund it would be either thru tolls or a gas tax. Let every state make that decision for itself.
Well, we do have a sham “policy of a strong dollar”... Unfortunately, it has been so transparently and obviously subverted by the same people who insisted on having the “policy” that they now lost any control over it, and it’s now firmly in hands of speculators who also manipulate Federal Reserve via equity markets to keep lowering the rates which in turn leads to devaluation of the dollar...
I don’t think they quite thought this through, along with some obvious as well as unintended consequences when they thought that lowering dollar a bit would give our producers a little bit of an advantage.
Devaluing / debasing the currency by industrial powers has never had a successful ending, especially in the era of global economy and ease of outsourcing or mobility of manufacturing activity.
If the 600 dollar rebate check is so good for the economy, then why don’t they double it and do it every year automatically? Something just seems a little fishy about the whole rebate concept.
This democrat from iowa is basically proposing “tax and spend” by the government to kickstart the economy. I’d like to slap him.
So if the State of Iowa basically has half the funds already, why not start 25 of the projects? Cause Chet needs an issue not a solution.
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