The Chinese Stimulus Plan
April 6, 2008
Rebate checks delivered by your friendly, government, postman. A few extra bucks but, at what cost?
Tax Day is just around the corner and the IRS should witness more prompt returns than usual, almost wholly due to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 - a $150 billion dollar plan aimed at boosting the economy by providing rebate checks to taxpayers and tax credits to businesses.
“Tens of millions Americans will have a check in the mail,” opined House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at a recent new conference. “It is there to strengthen the middle class, to create jobs and to turn this economy around.”
Americans can expect to receive anywhere from $600 to $1,200 which they will immediately spend on Chinese products. Last year, the United States imported $28.6 billion worth of goods from the number one exporter to the US - a number only expected to grow with the increasingly weak dollar and the rise of the Chinese economy as a force to be reckoned with. Since the 1970s, China’s economy has doubled every eight years and with the upcoming Beijing Olympic games bringing an increase in tourism and private capital from foreign investors, the growth rate is expected to rise exponentially.
Harvard historian, Niall Ferguson, has been reluctant to christen this the “Chinese Century”, maintaining that as long as Americans have the “technological ace in the hole”, it is not over. For this, we can only keep our fingers crossed but let us ask ourselves: Who are we fooling?
In reaction to the Plan, President Bush told reporters, “”I’ve always believed that allowing people to keep more of their own money and to use it as they see fit is the best way to help our economy grow.”
Right now, it is far too easy to extend our arms and touch something made in China. It will be even easier to extend our rebate checks and buy something made in China.
Mr. Bush, Mrs. Pelosi: We do not strengthen the herd by feeding the lions.
