The reaction to president Obama's stimulus package, now in the hands of policy makers on Capitol Hill, appears to be largely dependant on political ideology. Members of the president's own Democratic Party are in favor of the bill for the most part with the exception of some notable dissenters.
For those opposed to the bill, the reaction has been visceral, it has been stark and it has been complete. This demarcation along party lines of an issue of such critical importance and time sensitivity is saddening, maddening and clearly sobering. After the initial euphoria of the post election period and the presidential inauguration, reality bites.
Despite the fact that members of the republican opposition expressed optimism that the president was willing to reach across the isle in what appears to an outside observer as a good faith effort to get the bill passed, no yes votes from that side of the isle has been forthcoming. Now the bill, at least the Senate version, has become political football and has grown to $920 billion and mounting.
For the good of the country, lawmakers, if anything but out of recognition that the nation is teetering on the brink of economic disaster, need to act. If ever there was ever need for a kum ba yah moment in American economic history, it is now. If ever there was time for the majority of law makers to rally behind the elected leader as was the case immediately after the events of September 11, 2001 it is now. We have seen the weapons of mass destruction and we have witnessed their detonation over the past few months. The fallout has bought severe economic hardship to millions of American households. Indeed, the fervent response of most lawmakers to the former president's call to arms was crucial in thrusting the country into wars on two different fronts in two distant lands. That zeal needs to be rekindled as the war is now on continental USA. It is an economic war and it is being waged in every municipality, in every city, in every state. It is being waged on the assembly lines of US automobile manufacturers fighting to stay alive. It is being waged in the living rooms of the unemployed who cannot find work and the psyches of the soon to be unemployed that recognize that the future is grim.
While it is clear that negotiation for the bill's passage is necessary, the longer this process takes, the worse the situation becomes as the economy is deteriorating on a daily basis. This bill, or any bill for that matter, will not be perfect. But those imperfections can be addressed later and dealt with accordingly. The time to act is now! The economy is taking on water fast and we are almost out of lifeboats.
In the event that common sense ultimately prevails, and a stimulus bill is passed, then there are a number of companies which are well positioned to benefit immediately. This is due to the fact that in order for a stimulus to be effective, much of the spending would have to be done in the very near term. These include such industry leaders as URS Corp (URS), Flour (FLR) and Martin Marietta (MLM).
Disclosure: None
