American Reinvestment and Recovery Act
Order Instructions
On February 17, 2009 Congress passed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), As Blinder points out, the passage of the bill, although not fervently opposed in the House of Representatives, was stridently debated in the Senate; and the bill was the subject of substantial, partisan public debate as well:
Why spend $787 billion dollars of taxpayer money to treat the growing problems in unemployment and economic contraction caused by the financial crisis? What will the money be spent on? Will it work? And, now, in hindsight, did it work?
The issues surrounding this bill, the political, social and economic issues, facts, trends and theories, are enormously complex; these issues are challenging for even the most educated and knowledgable of economists and public policy professionals. And yet, as a democracy, citizens and lawmakers in the United States, who are not trained economists, are required to become as informed as possible and vote on policies or for those who will hold the responsibility to legislate policy. And in the case of ARRA, time is of the essence.
In this Forum we will practice this attempt to inform ourselves as best we can regarding an important issue of public policy. We will attempt to outline the context of this debate in February 2009 and consider some of the major issues.
1) Students should consider the arguments for and against ARRA. This will involve review of the following:
The justification for ARRA from Keynesian economic principles.
The context of growing unemployment, lower GDP, and failing companies and industries, like the US auto industry.
The continuing effects of plunging housing prices and foreclosures.
The ballooning Federal budget deficit.
The spending items in ARRA itself.
2) Students should also reflect on their own political perspective. Do you have certain political inclinations on an issue like this? What are they? Are these perspective well informed? Review the information provided by Blinder in the text; Blinder has views of his own that be backs up with argument.
TWO QUESTIONS
QUESTION POST1
Address ONE OF THE FOLLOWING (you need not address each question–these responses will provided some background for the debate to follow. And if a student has adequately covered a point, move to a different point. If you think that some information is not accurate, offer polite and constructive comment):
What were the primary justifications for ARRA?
What were the primary objections?
What was the purpose of ARRA and what requirements were placed on the legislation by the Obama economic team (the three T’s)?
SECOND QUESTRION(due by Saturday @ 11:59pm)
Class Debate: Was ARRA “good legislation”?
Blinder provides data and information supporting the claim that ARRA did the job it was supposed to do. So also does The Balance article by Kimberly Amadeo found in the additional reading section of this week. Are these two sources right about this? If you are unsure, what additional questions do you have? Feel free to share your political perspective, if you have one, as well, and reflect on the evidence provided by Blinder and/or Amadeo. This is a debated question. Try to fulfill the purpose of this exercise by offering some information and reflecting on the issue. Feel free to bring in any connections you see to the more recent stimulus Acts that have been passed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
You may offer a post addressing this question either as an independent post or in response to the post of another student. And please remember: respect and constructive criticism is the rule.
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