Cord Byrd: “over four months after the idea was originally proposed, the Senate remains divided on an economic stimulus package.…”

“over four months after the idea was originally proposed, the Senate remains divided on an economic stimulus package. Much has changed since an economic stimulus was first proposed in response to the September 11 attacks. Both the stock markets and the economy have proved to be more resilient than economists had expected. Moreover, there are signs, as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the Budget Committee last month, that some of the forces that have been restraining the economy over the past year are starting to loosen their strangle hold. The Fed Chairman told the Committee that ``while 3 months ago, [a stimulus package] was clearly a desirable action . . . I do not think it is a critically important issue to do. I think the economy will recover in any event.'' Aside from the positive economic data that have been released by government agencies in recent weeks, there is already a significant amount of stimulus in the pipelines. That's not to say that we are home free. As Chairman Greenspan pointed out last month, the economy could go either way at this point. Most troubling is the higher unemployment rate since last year. However, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that an economic stimulus package--whether crafted by Democrats or Republicans--is some sort of panacea. Stimulus packages can't work miracles. We have a $10 trillion economy. That's gross domestic product--the total of all spending.…”