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I was quite surprised to see an email from “US Congressman Paul C Broun” in my inbox this morning. (I’m most definitely NOT a Republican, and I moved out of his district over a year ago.) He seems to be looking for some input from his constituents regarding the “economic stimulus package” currently making its way through Congress! What an honor, for a Congressman to ask my advice on such an important issue! I hope he doesn’t mind, but I’m reposting his email below, so that maybe more of the American public (even the teeny bit more that actually read this blog) will see it and contact him with their good ideas!

(If you’re interested, click below to read his email, and my somewhat tongue-in-cheek reply.)

Dear JESSICA,

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama sold their $825 billion bill as an economic stimulus package. Instead, this bill was clogged with billions in wasteful spending for new government cars, sod for the National Mall, and more than thirty new government programs.  In my opinion, these things will NOT stimulate our economy; our country cannot afford a trillion dollar mistake.

Now that the Majority passed their $825 billion wish-list, it’s time for Americans to speak out and demand a real stimulus bill that will actually create jobs and end this terrible recession. It’s about time the American people got their own earmark.

With this bill, the national debt is now projected to increase 30% in just the first 4 years. It is irresponsible to place this burden on our children and grandchildren.

If the liberals in Congress are bound and determined to spend $825 billion then we should simply cut a check and return the money back to every hard working taxpayer. That means YOU would receive $9,000 the next time you did your taxes. In fact, I introduced an amendment that would do just that. See what the Athens-Banner Herald says about my amendment HERE.

Fast-acting tax relief for middle-class families, small businesses, job-seekers, and home-buyers are at the heart of the economic recovery proposals that I sponsored.

Middle-class Americans and small businesses are our nation’s economic engine. You know how to spend your own money much more wisely than out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats. I support an affordable and responsible alternative to stimulate our economy, and cosponsored a bill that enacts across-the-board permanent tax cuts and allow tax deductions for business assets, without adding one penny to the national debt.

I am for tax cuts, not growing the debt.  Supporting businesses, not new government programs.  And protecting our children and grandchildren from a crushing national debt that will only be repaid through very high taxes. I voted AGAINST this bill — which I believe is a pork wish-list — and FOR hardworking Americans.

As your public servant, I want to know your opinions and concerns. Please note office locations and contact information below.

Sincerely,

Paul C. Broun, MD
Member of Congress

What a nice letter, right? So of course, I felt like it was my civic duty to answer him.

Dear Congressman Broun:

I am not sure how my email address came to be in your possession, but I appreciate you taking the time out of what I am sure must be your very busy schedule to ask my opinion about the current stimulus bill making its way through Congress. Maybe you can set a trend among our other elected lawmakers to start soliciting the input of their constituents before passing bills with such far-reaching effects!

First and foremost, I feel that this stimulus bill ought to provide both short-term stimulus as well as long-term stimulus to the economy.

I also believe that an ideal stimulus package should include programs that would both stimulate the economy (either short-term or long-term, preferably both) as well as solve other pressing issues. Some examples include:

- Programs for developing alternative, renewable, sustainable energy. This would solve multiple problems by:
—> Creating jobs,
—> Reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil (which would allow us to stop giving money to Middle East countries that harbor terrorists), and
—> Helping to address environmental issues such as global warming.

- Programs for creating a standardized, computerized, national database of medical records. This would also solve multiple problems by:
—> Creating jobs,
—> Making medical administration tasks more efficient and lessening the chance of medical errors, thereby reducing health care costs for all Americans, and
—> This would also help the environment in a small way by reducing the need for paper.

I believe that tax cuts, while nice in theory, won’t do much to directly stimulate the economy. Most economists seem to think that our economy will get worse before it gets better, and that we could be in a recession for the next few years. Based on this, I think that most people are going to be saving any extra money instead of spending it. Also, income tax cuts will have little benefit for the millions of American workers who have already lost their jobs and are unemployed.

Tax rebates are also nice in theory, but again, most Americans are scared to spend right now; we’re all “saving for a rainy day”. Personally, if the government handed me a check for $9,000 right now,
I’d buy some groceries, get a tune-up on my car, possibly pay down some of my student loans, and save the rest for that “just in case” situation that I or my boyfriend lose our job. I wouldn’t exactly provide the best stimulus for our economy, I’m afraid. Were I currently unemployed, the situation would be similar; that $9,000 (plus whatever was already in my bank account) would be my sole source of cash for the next however many months.

If Congress is planning to issue tax rebate checks for the purpose of stimulating the economy, you would do well to issue them on something like pre-paid Visa gift cards. Paper checks are likely to be deposited in bank accounts and left there for rainy day funds. Gift cards can’t be deposited, and so they must be spent… thereby providing the economic stimulus that we need.

I do support the idea of tax breaks for business owners that create new jobs. To some extent, I also support government-issued funding for failing business. However, rather than giving money directly to
businesses, I think that a better idea would be to set up some sort of program where businesses that are strapped for cash and can’t get financing from banks would be able to borrow money from the federal government in order to avoid having to lay off employees. This would help to save jobs. However, such a program ought to have complete transparency, and business owners who request a government loan should be required to provide records of their finances for at least the last year, a statement of how they intend to use the money, and keep records of how the money is spent. Such companies should also be required to implement caps on compensation (salary and bonuses) for their executives. (No repeats of the AIG debacle, please!)

To address some of the points in your email more directly: I’m not sure how I feel about new government cars, or re-sodding the Mall. Sure, it would stimulate the economy by creating jobs, but I don’t like the idea of this country’s elected officials being able to buy new automobiles and do some re-landscaping while so much of the country is struggling just to put gas in our cars and keep a roof over our heads (much less a lawn in our yards!)

Of course, I realize that all this will cost money, and of course, I don’t want to burden my (future) children or grandchildren with a massive national debt. As most of us ordinary middle-class Americans know, for any amount of money that we spend, we also will likely have to cut back on something else. In the government’s case, that of course means reducing government spending. And just like us ordinary middle-class Americans are now being forced to do, the government needs to evaluate
its budget and decide what is a “necessity” and what is a “luxury”. Many Americans have either been laid off or forced to take a pay cut. Why not Congress? It would be a great show of sympathy for the plight of the American people if Congress passed a bill to reduce their own salaries, even by a little bit.

I hope that some of these ideas and sentiments are things that are already in the works. If not, feel free to use them! (But please, do not quote anything in this email out of context.) I look forward to reading and hearing more news of what you guys are cooking up for us, up there in Washington D.C. Good luck to you all!

Sincerely,

Jessica L. Moore

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