A Global Stimulus Package?
Now that American taxpayers have bailed out Citigroup, AIG and Bank of America (along with a host of others) and are about to finance a massive economic stimulus bill, what about chipping in for a stimulus package that targets developing economies?
That's what Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, advocates in a recent New York Times op-ed. After all, why should the poor in developing countries have to pay the price for a crisis they didn't start?
The United States could begin by pledging some $6 billion of its own $825 billion stimulus package — just 4 percent of what was provided to American International Group. With this modest step, the United States would speed up global recovery, help the world’s poor and bolster its foreign policy influence.
Zoellick expects other countries to follow America's generous example; Britain, Saudi Arabia and others have already expressed interest.
Any global stimulus, Zoellick explains, should support investments in human capital, public-private partnerships to supply communities with basic services, small- and medium-sized businesses, and microfinance institutions that lend to the poor.
The current economic crisis has already pushed an additional 100 million people into poverty, reversing a 20-year trend toward poverty reduction. If a global stimulus package has the potential to boost incomes in the developing world — and attaining all benefits that go along with that, from lower disease rates to less crime — Americans would be smart to consider it.
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Imprudent economics
America seems to display an overly precipitous goodwill nature to the so called poor nations of the world, America’s hope for economic recovery, world dominance and future perpetuation is largely hinged on the availability of credit to America from the world’s poor from another corner of the globe (borrowed money from China) America itself is tittering on the brink of catastrophe occasioned by poor judgment and deep indebtedness. It does not make economic sense neither does it show any sign of prudence to borrow for charity (especially when you are already neck deep in debts) the world’s poor need to realise more than ever before that their destiny lies in their own hands, and that if they are not committed to turning around their fortunes, no amount of aid would suffice to get them out of the hole, at least good examples of a commitment to change growth and prosperity lie in India and China (even though there may exist a lopsidedness’, it still serves as a first step which is better than stagnation or retrogression)
America has enough problems on its hands already than to add the world’s poor to the list.
Obama's transportation plan
The stimulus package of the government is said to be the answer to our declining economic status that cause foreclosures and layoffs. However, stimulus package will not only cover that but also the education and transportation. Since the United States has been missing a high speed and efficient public transportation system, and that's why the Obama high speed rail plan is such a hit. The Obama high speed rail plan is a public works project of sorts that will build an infrastructure for high speed rail across the country, joining Europe in having high speed public transport. This is the part of the stimulus package that is supposed to create jobs, and begin credit repair with those who want the U.S. to be every bit the modern nation it purports to be.
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