White House not forecasting recession

steelbeam · 01-22-2008, 01:45 PM

The White House said Tuesday it was not predicting a recession in the United States and but that it was open to a larger stimulus package than its proposed 140-150 billion dollar boost.

waltky · 02-04-2008, 03:43 PM

No guarantee it will spur the job market...

Stimulus plan may not lead to many new jobs
February 4 2008: Even if $150B tax rebate plan gives economy a shot in arm, it won't necessary prompt employers to add staff.

Quote:

Most economists agree that the stimulus package now working its way through Congress will boost the economy. How many jobs it will create, however, is up for debate. The Bush administration has estimated that the stimulus package will add 500,000 jobs to the economy. Last Friday's jobs report showed U.S. employers trimmed 17,000 jobs from their payrolls in January. That fed new fears that the economy may be on the cusp of recession, if it hasn't fallen into one already.

President Bush and other politicians argued Friday that the drop in employment is further reason to pass the $150 billion stimulus plan, which is equal to about 1% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). The thought is that if consumers have more money to spend once they get their rebate checks later this summer, some businesses, especially retailers, will need to hire new staff to deal with increased demand.

But many economists argue that companies won't hire more permanent workers just because taxpayers may look to quickly spend their one-time rebate of about $600. "Businesses don't change their hiring or investment habits for a one-check pony," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. "There's no overriding need to hire workers for anything more than a temporary basis."

Temporary cut, temporary impact

sunken · 02-04-2008, 07:01 PM

The white house doesn't want to call it a recession because that would look bad on the republicans. But as I've said before, you cannot fool the people when it comes to the economy. If it's bad for them, then they are going to think it's bad.