Quote Originally Posted by we_are_toast View Post
What an opportunity!

The Economic and Political timing is right for the administration to propose a massive government green jobs program. Something very much on the order of FDR's CCC. The cost of putting unemployed people to work on putting solar panels on government and other buildings, retrofitting buildings for higher energy efficiency, and Research in ALT-E technologies is not much higher than paying them to sit home.

The Politics is right in that the party in power knows it's in trouble if it doesn't lower the unemployment rate or at least have a plan to do so. The government jobs might be a stretch for the Obama Admin, but I think there's a good chance that Stimulus II will be very much directed toward green and infrastructure (unfortunately) jobs. It'll be hard for the Repubs to vote against a jobs program with unemployment this high and the Dems know they have to do something.

Let the games begin!
The jobs Stimulus II ship is leaving the dock.
Senator Reid tees up 2010 jobs bill


By Walter Alarkon - 11/11/09 06:00 AM ET
Senate Democrats will take up a new job-creation bill in the wake of the 10.2 percent unemployment rate, Majority Leader Harry Reid told his colleagues Tuesday.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told The Hill that Reid (D-Nev.) made the announcement about a new jobs bill at the Senate Democrats’ weekly lunch.

Reid said he was looking at an initiative focused on job creation “and that our caucus will take it up,” Cardin said.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/6...2010-jobs-bill

Obama to focus on job creation

He will hold a White House summit next month and says he's open to 'any demonstrably good idea.'


Reporting from Washington - President Obama will convene a White House summit early next month to explore ways to reverse the soaring unemployment rate -- and there won't be any shortage of ideas.

Economists and lawmakers hope that such proposals as tax breaks for companies that add workers, tax cuts for small businesses and more government highway construction will get renewed attention after Obama's call Thursday for new ways to reverse job losses.

But the administration and its allies in Congress are facing another shortage -- time.

Economic and political concerns are rising after the unemployment rate hit 10.2% last month, reaching double digits for the first time in 26 years. With congressional midterm elections looming next year and thousands more jobs being lost each week, Washington must act quickly to get new programs in place.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,1759115.story

CalculatedRisk makes the good point that this will be another boost to GDP next year. iTulip anticipated a serious of bounces as the government introduced these programs, but we seem to be getting one extended bounce and I'm wondering if this will extend the bounce even further.

If the new Stimulus is a lot like the old Stimulus, with tax breaks and highway construction, rather than an effort to move from fossil fuels to Alt-E, it'll mean when this elongated bounce is over, it's really going to hurt.