Readers
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
House Dems step up despite GOP foot-dragging
While the House of Representatives passed the economic recovery package by a wide margin, scoring a major victory for American workers and families and a beleaguered American economy, they did so without a single Republican vote.
Republicans appear to have learned nothing from the message sent to all of our elected officials in the most recent election: that it’s time to set partisan games, politics and ideology aside and work for bold solutions to the daunting challenges facing the American people.
Rather than address the most severe economic crisis America has faced in a generation, Republicans retreated to the partisan games and failed policies of the past eight years, which cost them dearly in the last two elections.
In turning their backs on the American people during a time of historic economic crisis to score cheap political points, Republicans in the House at worst may have committed political suicide and best proved their irrelevance to the process.
Brad Woodhouse
president
Americans United for Change
Washington, D.C.
$1M to each citizen cheaper than stimulus plan
President Obama should veto HR 1, the stimulus package, if it reaches his desk. Most of the money seems to be going to programs that should be in separate regular spending bills. The $500 to $1,000 stimulus checks will do little for the average family growing debt.
May I suggest the proper way to stimulate the economy is to give the money to the people. Give every U.S. citizen (every man, woman and child) – with the exception of those individuals with a net worth of more than $7 million or in prison – $1 million each. This will pay almost all personal debt, increase spending, investing, and savings.
This plan would cost the United States people less than half a billion dollars as compared to $819 billion from the proposed stimulus package.
President Obama should consider what he is doing to the future generations with such a burden.
David S. Maloney
Sedona
Fuel-economy standards will prolong crash
President Obama has issued an order mandating higher automotive Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards by 2011.
This will force automakers to sell a greater proportion of less-profitable, smaller vehicles.
Reduced profits mean less jobs. Smaller vehicles mean less safety. Less jobs, less safety – these are audacious changes for which rational folks do not hope.
Mark Kalinowski
New York, N.Y.