How will the market react to downgrade?

[Parkbandit]

Hmm.

Something on your mind or is this just a brain fart?

[Kembal]

So, your belief is that if we did a 2 trillion dollar stimulus bill back in '09.. we would have been out of this problem by now? We "only" went with 800 billion and that was part of the issue?

So... 800 billion gave us 10% unemployment.. if we did nothing, we would have had 8% unemployment.... what would 2 trillion dollars give?

Uh, where do you get the idea that if we did nothing we would have had 8% unemployment? More likely we would have been at 12% or 14%, if not higher.

[Parkbandit]

Uh, where do you get the idea that if we did nothing we would have had 8% unemployment? More likely we would have been at 12% or 14%, if not higher.

It was part of the panic plan prior to the "Stimulus" being approved through Congress... that if we didn't hurry up and pass this important legislation, unemployment could hit 8%

[Cephalopod]

It was part of the panic plan prior to the "Stimulus" being approved through Congress... that if we didn't hurry up and pass this important legislation, unemployment could hit 8%

You may be mis-remembering. The claim was that WITH the stimulus, unemployment would peak at 8.5% (Eric Cantor said Obama used this number) and go no higher. Obviously this was wrong, but I don't think anyone expected unemployment to stay below 8%. Private sector projections were 11-13% without a stimulus, the other (partisan) government projections were higher.

[Keller]

You may be mis-remembering. The claim was that WITH the stimulus, unemployment would peak at 8.5% (Eric Cantor said Obama used this number) and go no higher. Obviously this was wrong, but I don't think anyone expected unemployment to stay below 8%. Private sector projections were 11-13% without a stimulus, the other (partisan) government projections were higher.

Your facts are biased.

[Parkbandit]

You may be mis-remembering. The claim was that WITH the stimulus, unemployment would peak at 8.5% (Eric Cantor said Obama used this number) and go no higher. Obviously this was wrong, but I don't think anyone expected unemployment to stay below 8%. Private sector projections were 11-13% without a stimulus, the other (partisan) government projections were higher.

Yea.. you might be right:

"In January, President Obama pressed for an $800 billion economic “stimulus” package to turn the economy around. Though the bill largely consisted of increased spending on traditional liberal priorities, the President claimed that it would “create or save” 3.5 million jobs. The President’s economic advisors predicted that unemployment would rise to 9 percent by 2010 if Congress did not pass the stimulus bill, but that with the stimulus unemployment would stay below 8 percentage points."

http://blog.heritage.org/2009/07/02/...%80%99-claims/

[BriarFox]

The stimulus was a pretty half-ass maneuver. It needed to be bigger to actually work as Keynes argued they do.

[Cephalopod]

I have a stupid analogy in my head for the stimulus:

Keynesian economics suggests building a house with four walls, a roof and a floor as a way to stay out of the rain. Progressives / liberals wanted to build this house. Conservatives believed that the house would cost too much and was not worth building and we should all fashion our own umbrellas. As a compromise, Obama and the Democratic majority caved and agreed to build a house with two walls, a floor and a roof made of cheesecloth. No one was happy with this, but something had to be done. Conservatives claim the mostly ineffectual house is a failure of the idea of housing. Progressives claim is was a failure to build the house as required.

[Keller]

We should have just moved into a foreclosed house.

Morons.

[kookiegod]

What a wild ride...

Down 630 yesterday.

Down 200 at one point today...ended up +400.

Mr Speaker, please stop the rollercoaster, I want to get off.