America Needs to Spend a Little to Make a Little
Jie Chen
Issue date: 3/3/10 Section: Opinion
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The budget rightly calls on the country's high-income earners and wealthy corporations like the big energy companies and the behemoth banks, all pampered during the Bush years, to carry more of the burden. Letting the Bush-era tax cuts on the rich expire at the end of this year would bring in nearly $700 billion over a decade, according to the IRS. The Treasury Department reported that a fee on big banks would raise $90 billion in a few years, and the elimination of some subsidies for large energy companies would save another $40 billion.
People complain how these increases in revenue are miniscule and useless when compared to the mounting national debt in the trillions of dollars, the largest debt in the history of humanity. I think otherwise. A penny saved is a penny earned. These policies, which will rake in billions of dollars for the national funds, will set the foundation for future fiscal responsibilities on part of the government.
Most will argue that Obama's budget doesn't save money but rather spends money like it's the Monopoly game's paper bills that will eventually lead to national bankruptcy. Obama and his administration will of course see this danger. That's why the budget spends heavily on education, social welfare, job creation, clean energy technology and infrastructure upgrades.
Education will ensure America's future by enabling students to further pursue their academic and professional dreams. Increase in social welfare programs will alleviate the despair felt by the countless, average and lower income families most adversely affected by the Great Recession. This, coupled with job creation, will bring back the financial stability and maybe even prosperity that American families used to have. Financial stability is invaluable and crucial to the American economic recovery; it will give consumers the ability to start spending again and this in turn will jumpstart the ailing economy.
Investing in clean energy technology is not only benefi cial to the environment but also to the economy. It's a fairly new industry to enter the market, and it will require vast amount of manpower to get it progressing. There will be needs for the planning, designing, installing and constructing these green technologies. These needs together with the upgrade of the national infrastructure will inevitably lead to job creations.
America is bankrupt, but not of money; we are bankrupt of options and solutions to fix this big economic and fiscal mess. Obama has finally unveiled a plan that will put America back on its feet. While it is true that this budget calls for more spending, the spending will provide long-term benefits for America. You have to first spent money in order to earn money.
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