The Fruit of Nelsonism

by publius

As you'll recall, we passed a stimulus bill earlier this year.  The original proposal was already too small.  But then a group of centrist Senators led by Ben Nelson and Susan Collins demanded additional significant cuts to aid for states.  They ultimately cut about $25 billion from the original proposal, most of which cut the "flexible" money that states could use on anything.  (Ed Kilgore explains the details).

These cuts had no discernable policy basis, but were simply political and ideological posturing.  It's one thing to oppose the stimulus.  But once you agree to spend 700 billion, there's no justifiable policy reason to oppose this additional amount, particularly given how stimulative state aid is (especially in terms of keeping people employed).

And now the NYT shows the inevitable effect of not spending more on state aid.  In short, state cutbacks are limiting the effects of the stimulus:

The layoffs at New Flyer are a vivid illustration of the way that some of the economic impact of the $787 billion federal stimulus law is being diluted by the actions state and local governments are taking to weather the recession.

Let's hope this lesson is learned on health care.  The goal must be to get the policy right.  If limiting spending hurts the overall policy, then we need to spend more (e.g., subsidies in a world of mandates).

[UPDATE 11:35:  Dean Baker and Rivka Deutsch wrote a paper on this very topic back in May 2009 (pdf).

Comments

[cleek]

how can people who deny reality learn any lesson ?

[wonkie]

I think the chances of the Blue Dogs, or, indeed, the Obama adminstration, learning from are close to zero.

[TJ]

You're assuming that Nelson gives a rat's *ss about layoffs not in his state. His reality is more or less oriented to how corporations are doing.

[Justin]

@TJ said all that needs saying. (/thread)

[paulo]

Susan Collins will learn nothing except she can get someone in the press to pay attention to her and she can send me her newsletter telling me how she cut waste in government.

Susan Collins is neither a centrist nor a competent senator.

She was a more than a willing Bush enabler when it came to wiretapping and torture and and war and dismantling the constitution.

When it came to actually helping American people all she could do was nickly and dime the stimulus.

[Davis X. Machina]

Susan Collins will learn nothing except she can get someone in the press to pay attention to her and she can send me her newsletter telling me how she cut waste in government.

Once we know the Attic Greek for "Hey, over here, look at me!" we can slap -ism or -cracy on the end of it and her political philosophy will finally have a name.

I hear rumors occasionally that she's positioning herself for a White House run, probably in 2016.

The thinking goes as follows -- the Party self-destructs in a '12, and starts looking to rebuild, by embracing the the opposite of all all the things that have killed them, and she's just the ticket -- a woman, in a party that's a sausage-fest, a 'moderate', a non-southerner, pro-choice, etc. etc. And she's a non-Mormon.

I don't buy it, not for the top of the ticket, but I can see her getting the VP slot. Too bad she's as numb as a hake. The problem with small-state politics is that with a very little effort you can meet your Reps and Senators face-to-face.

[JanieM]

Too bad she's as numb as a hake. The problem with small-state politics is that with a very little effort you can meet your Reps and Senators face-to-face.

Other people at ObWi have said similar things in the year-and-a-half I've been here, but I don't buy it. I think Susan C. is a lot shrewder/smarter than her surface manner implies, and it would be a big mistake to underestimate her. I wouldn't be surprised if she counts on the underestimation and leverages it to her advantage on a regular basis.

"Numb as a hake" sounds more like Sarah Palin to me.

Your comment (Davis X.) makes it sound like you might be a Mainer...? If so, and you'd like to together sometime, write to me at janiemat at myfairpoint dot net. We've had a couple of fun ObWi get-togethers in the Boston area when I've been down there for work; why not Maine?

One of your comments from election season last year is my all-time favorite internet quote, maybe my all-time favorite quote period:

The salient fact of American politics is that there are, at any given time, enough people to elect a president who would also volunteer to live with their family in a cardboard box under a bridge, and eat sparrows toasted on an old curtain rod, if you only promise them that the black-gay-foreign-liberal-Mexican in the next box over doesn't even get the sparrow.

Posted by: Davis X. Machina | September 04, 2008 at 12:32 AM

[Davis X. Machina]

I've got a man on the inside -- a former student of mine works in her constituent-service operation, and although she pays his tuition loans, he is seriously not impressed.

I realize that no man -- or woman -- is a hero to his -- or her -- valet, but when the staff says 'numb as a hake', I tend to listen.