It is NOT a loan in the sense that the recipient of the money does not have to pay it back.  Though it certainly creates a debt that we as taxpayers will all have to repay one day, it is a shared burden. There is nothing wrong with that because we will all benefit from the improvement it makes in the economy.  But, I generally DO have a problem with the national debt - it is insane!  But, under Bush, we saw the national debt more than double and we got nothing to show for it.  With the current economy, we now need deficit spending to spur the economy and because of the mountain of debt we have already incurred it is dangerous.

And, at least Obama has shown concern over the issue by appointing someone to cut wasteful spending - Nancy Killefer.

Pressing his bid for a fresh burst of government spending, President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday announced he was creating a position -- a "chief performance officer" -- to kill off dubious government programs and ensure that taxpayer money was not wasted.

I think Obama is inheriting the worst set of problems to ever face this country.  It is too early to criticize his handling of it at this point.  I think he has the right mix of tax cuts, government spending, and hopefully, we will see him make spending cuts where we can, too.  It will all be necessary to restore the economy.  Even if he adds another $3 trillion to the debt, it will be less than Bush created and if it creates an economy like the one we had in the 90's it will be worth it.  Once the economy rebounds, we will have to start working on the deficit and the national debt.  But, we can't do anything about it with things the way they are now.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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