The stimulus bill is essentially Smoot-Hawley-Keynes, the three recipes that caused and deepened the Great Recession. Keynesian economics, by means of throwing money at things that don't stimulate any economy, just serve to deepen debt and not to create jobs.
The additional wording, weakening the "buy American" provision, was merely added because of the three Republican senators who voted for the original report. The conferees feared losing one or two votes, which would have killed the entire stimulus package. We'll see how dedicated Obama is to his anti-protectionist rhetoric. With him in the unions' back pocket, I don't hold out much hope. His history of saying one thing to one group and the complete opposite to another group (remember those who "cling to their guns and religion" as well as the Canadian memo?) means we can't trust a thing he says. Only his actions will show which is his real philosophy.
One question I have is why the bill costs $800 billion. Only $170 billion of that $800 billion is scheduled to be spent this year. If this thing was SOOOO crucial to keep us from sliding deep into depression, why didn't we just pass a one-year $170 billion stimulus package instead of passing over $600 billion worth of pork that won't be spent until the recession is supposed to be over?
