tcmaroc
01-24-2008, 12:24 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday the White House and Congress are negotiating a shortsighted economic stimulus package and should focus instead on encouraging immigration and helping strapped homeowners.
"We can't borrow our way out of this. The jig is up," Bloomberg said during a speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which honored his environmental efforts.
The billionaire mayor, who is said to be considering an independent presidential bid yet denies that he is a candidate, said the $150 billion stimulus package being hammered out between Democratic and Republican leaders won't be enough.
"There's just one problem: It's not going to make much of a difference because we've already been running huge deficits," Bloomberg said. "If we spend all the money right now, and there is no recovery because of it, then we don't have a second hand to play."
Some of those urging Bloomberg to run for president say his record as a CEO is his biggest selling point in a time of economic turmoil.
Despite his public denials of presidential ambitions, Bloomberg is conducting an analysis of voter data in all 50 states to better understand his chances as a third-party candidate. Aides have said he would delay a decision until after the major parties produce clear front-runners.
For months, Bloomberg has faulted the two parties for failing to reach practical compromises. His speech Wednesday night on the economy was unusual in that he publicly opposed the one area where there is wide bipartisan agreement: the economic stimulus package.
The metropolitan mayor used a farming analogy to heap scorn on the current crop of Washington leaders.
"They spent most of this past decade when things were good running up bills with reckless abandon, and when the economy started heading for the ditch, the special interest giveaways got even bigger. I think they ate the seed corn without worrying about the next year's crop. Here we are, the seed corn is gone, and all we've got is a barn full of IOU's," he said.
Details of the stimulus package are still being negotiated, but the centerpiece of the measure is expected to be a tax rebate similar to the $300-$600 checks sent out in the summer of 2001. The emergency measure would more than double last year's deficit spending of $163 billion, according to congressional budget estimates.
Bloomberg argued that the government's first goal should be to stop the bleeding in the housing sector. "What good is a rebate going to do for a family who's about to lose the place that they sleep in?" he said. Keeping people in their homes, he added, "is more important than giving everyone a check."
Instead, the mayor argued, the government should:
• Adopt a capital budget to oversee long-term infrastructure spending, instead of the current year-to-year spending.
• Offer financial counseling, modified loans and, in some cases, subsidized loans to homeowners who find themselves unable to afford their mortgages.
_Overhaul immigration laws to bring more workers in, not keep workers out.
"Illegal immigration has become the pandering politician's best friend," he said. "We have to stop turning away people that our economy needs."
© 2008 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
link: http://www.nj.com/elections/index.ssf?/base/politics-13/1201139651283610.xml&storylist=politics
.
"We can't borrow our way out of this. The jig is up," Bloomberg said during a speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which honored his environmental efforts.
The billionaire mayor, who is said to be considering an independent presidential bid yet denies that he is a candidate, said the $150 billion stimulus package being hammered out between Democratic and Republican leaders won't be enough.
"There's just one problem: It's not going to make much of a difference because we've already been running huge deficits," Bloomberg said. "If we spend all the money right now, and there is no recovery because of it, then we don't have a second hand to play."
Some of those urging Bloomberg to run for president say his record as a CEO is his biggest selling point in a time of economic turmoil.
Despite his public denials of presidential ambitions, Bloomberg is conducting an analysis of voter data in all 50 states to better understand his chances as a third-party candidate. Aides have said he would delay a decision until after the major parties produce clear front-runners.
For months, Bloomberg has faulted the two parties for failing to reach practical compromises. His speech Wednesday night on the economy was unusual in that he publicly opposed the one area where there is wide bipartisan agreement: the economic stimulus package.
The metropolitan mayor used a farming analogy to heap scorn on the current crop of Washington leaders.
"They spent most of this past decade when things were good running up bills with reckless abandon, and when the economy started heading for the ditch, the special interest giveaways got even bigger. I think they ate the seed corn without worrying about the next year's crop. Here we are, the seed corn is gone, and all we've got is a barn full of IOU's," he said.
Details of the stimulus package are still being negotiated, but the centerpiece of the measure is expected to be a tax rebate similar to the $300-$600 checks sent out in the summer of 2001. The emergency measure would more than double last year's deficit spending of $163 billion, according to congressional budget estimates.
Bloomberg argued that the government's first goal should be to stop the bleeding in the housing sector. "What good is a rebate going to do for a family who's about to lose the place that they sleep in?" he said. Keeping people in their homes, he added, "is more important than giving everyone a check."
Instead, the mayor argued, the government should:
• Adopt a capital budget to oversee long-term infrastructure spending, instead of the current year-to-year spending.
• Offer financial counseling, modified loans and, in some cases, subsidized loans to homeowners who find themselves unable to afford their mortgages.
_Overhaul immigration laws to bring more workers in, not keep workers out.
"Illegal immigration has become the pandering politician's best friend," he said. "We have to stop turning away people that our economy needs."
© 2008 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
link: http://www.nj.com/elections/index.ssf?/base/politics-13/1201139651283610.xml&storylist=politics
.