Stop them before they spend again: Some Dems want even more stimulus

Like an alcoholic who thinks a few more more drinks are all that is needed to make things better, some Democrats think even more stimulus spending is the cure for our serious economic ills. Not only did the $862 billion stimulus not help, it may have made things worse--it directed money away from the job creating private-sector to the inefficient public-sector.

Sen. Tom Harkin is one of those Dems, as The Hill reports:

Senior Senate Democrats are growing frustrated by what they see as President Obama's passivity on the economy, and are beginning to discuss a large infrastructure package funded by tax increases.

Some Democrats, such as Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who serves as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, think such a package could lower the unemployment rate by as much as two percentage points.

But the plan is not without political risk — Republicans would be quick to slap Democrats with the old "tax-and-spend liberals" label. And the prospect of passing such a plan through the GOP-led House of Representatives — where conservative freshmen hold significant clout — is slim.

"I am concerned about the Obama administration's approach on this," Harkin said. "It always has been about jobs. I think the administration kind of got snookered talking about the deficit and the debt after the last election."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is another spendaholic, according to The Hill article.

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