Larding Up the Bloated “Stimulus” Plan With More Welfare

Earlier this month, House leaders reached a deal with the White House on a $150 billion “stimulus” plan that would increase the deficit to give rebates to people who pay little or no taxes, but not people who currently pay a lot of taxes.

As if that deal didn’t contain enough welfare already, the Senate is preparing to lard up the “stimulus” plan with billions more for mortgage counseling, aid to state governments in the red, food stamps, extended jobless benefits in (mostly high-tax, anti-business) states with high unemployment rates, and home heating oil subsidies.

Even if the “stimulus” plan does stimulate consumer spending, it won’t necessarily boost American industrial production, since many consumer goods are now purchased from foreign countries, like China.

The “stimulus” plan will give greatly expanded lending authority to Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage giant that engaged in Enron-style accounting fraud and helped create the housing bubble that threatens the economy with a recession.