Senate Making "Stimulus" Better and Worse?
By David Sirota
January 29th, 2008 - 9:56am ET
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I've already written about why the current "stimulus" package is bad - but it seems like Senate Democrats might change it - some for the better, and much for the worse. The Politico reports that Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) "is proposing adding 13 weeks to unemployment insurance" and "Other senators want to add food stamp funding, Medicaid money for states, infrastructure spending for roads and bridges and money for summer job programs." That's great. However, here's where it gets bad:
"The Senate may lift the $150,000 household income cap ($75,000 for individuals) for eligibility for tax rebates...Baucus is also considering a series of tax measures not in the House bill, including a proposal to allow businesses to reach back five years - instead of the current two year limit - to take tax write offs on net losses."
This is typically how it works in Washington - anything that's done on behalf of the majority of Americans comes attached to another giveaway for corporations and the rich.


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