The news just keeps getting worse.? Jobs are being lost in record numbers and the economy seems as if it is going into a deep dive?into the abyss.? As I wrote about?a few weeks back, this spending bill just keeps getting darker.? More and more things are being added to it and when all is said and done, I won’t be surprised if?it tops $1 trillion.? The bill contemplates so many things that won’t?even come to fruition?for years to come; these things have nothing to do with stimulating the economy today.? It is also saddled with unbelievable amounts of special interest pork.? Additionally, there are a whole slew of issues and causes in there that are misplaced.? While I agree we should be focusing on i.e. alternative energy, we should not be packaging it up with this bill.? That is a fight for tomorrow.? It is a bit telling that almost all of the Democrats and not one Republican in the House voted for this bill.? If we really want to stimulate the economy, why not do an immediate tax cut for the middle and lower class.? We can accomplish this through a reduction of the withholding tax.? Forget rebate checks, these are administratively difficult and take months and months to process and be sent out.? If we do a tax cut today, people will feel the effect and get the extra funds in their NEXT paycheck.? People need relief today- increasing spending is not going to pull us out of this recession in the near term, putting more money back in people’s pockets will do a much better job of that.? It will allow people to get back some confidence and start spending again.?

The Wall Street bonuses for firms like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America?and JP Morgan astonished the world this week.? As the crisis at these firms continue to unfold (some bigger than others), people can not fathom actually rewarding individuals there.? I am a bit annoyed as a taxpayer that?we have thrown Wall Street a life vest and now some?of that money is going to the very people who helped to create the current crisis.? The argument for large bonuses is usually retention, I am not really sure how that plays into it today.? The sixth largest bonus payout in history.? If we are paying these staggering amounts on the U.S. taxpayer’s dime, I would love to see what happens to bonuses when Wall Street recovers to profitability.