$1 Trillion Economic Stimulus: Will the Government Pull Out All The Stops?

A couple months ago, I reported that the $700 billion bailout was likely to cost at least $2 trillion. So, with the costs that come with that large of a debt (notably interest costs), I wonder what sort of actual costs will result from a reported $1 trillion bailout plan. Because that’s where we seem to be headed.

Calls are mounting for a truly massive bailout. Honestly, though, I’m not sure why we’re even continuing the charade that there is a spending cap at all, and specific plans for the money. The government is trying its best to look as though it is putting limits on the money and practicing restraint, but that’s a lot like saying, “My credit card only has a $2,000 limit,” and then pulling out the second credit card with a $15,000 limit.

The bottom line is that continually throwing borrowed money at our problems won’t really make them go away. We can try to spend ourselves out of this recession, but, really, we should be considering that perhaps this recession is a chance for us to re-think our economy and how it works.

Rampant consumerism only breeds…rampant consumerism.

Unfortunately, rampant consumerism as an economic model is unsustainable in the long run because you need more and more of it (accompanied by more and more debt) and eventually you reach a point where borrowing more is simply impossible.While individuals have reached that point, our country hasn’t. We still have countries who are, for whatever reason, still willing to lend us money.

But at some point the party will really come to an end. Unless we start making changes now, this financial crisis will look like nothing.