This diary is by a die-hard John Edwards supporter.
BARAK OBAMA'S CHIEF ECONOMICS ADVISER AUSTAN GOOLSBEE today on CNBC was explaining the differences between Obama's and Clinton's economic policies. To start, he said...
I think that it is going to be about differentiation. I think what, what you see in a number of economic policy areas, cause I do think that's got to be the number one issue on voters' minds, if you look at economic policy, Senator Obama's got ideas that are a little bit different, they perhaps are a little more respectful of market forces than policies coming out of the Clinton campaign, where they're saying things like let's solve the, the mortgage housing crisis by having the government force all the lenders to hold the rates with price controls for the next five years.
There was a little back and forth between the host and Mr. Goolsbee, who then continued...
...if you look even say at the stimulus that passed yesterday, Senator Obama and Senator Clinton had very different views of how we ought to do stimulus. Senator Obama's was let's get the money out right away and into the hands of people who can use it. This, uh, this idea of giving money to senior citizens through Social Security was Senator Obama's idea that was in this bill. The... many of the things that were jettisoned in the end, the money for low income heat assistance through a bureaucratic program, money for tax credits for energy saving appliances that would go out in April of 2009, those kind of targeted programs that would take a long time were the centerpiece of the Clinton effort. So again, as I say the Obama approach is getting at some of the same goals, but it's taken a little bit more of a market-friendly approach.
So, what was this 'bureaucratic program' that would 'take a long time'? It's the federal low-income heating assistance program, known as LIHEAP. But more on that in a moment. I'll let CBS News explain what happened...
Democrats in the Senate, also known as the world's greatest deliberative body, wanted to start from scratch with their own bill. They lowered the rebates, but raised the caps. They added the seniors and disabled veterans as rebate recipients.They attached low-income heating assistance (LIHEAP), food stamps and unemployment insurance to the package. They also extended tax cuts for investing in renewable energy.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans cried out that the House bill would allow illegal immigrants to receive rebate checks – and that the Senate Democrats were treating the stimulus bill as a Christmas tree ... hanging anything they wanted on it. Sure, they supported adding seniors and disabled veterans, but not the rest. The Republicans who eventually supported the Senate proposal were largely from cold, Northeastern states and they were in it for the heating assistance....
In the end, Republicans successfully blocked the bill by one vote. The Majority Leader's bluff was called. Reid tried to figure out if he could get one more Republican to cross over, but realized it couldn't be done. Less than twenty-four hours later, a deal was born.
And the deal included jettisoning $1 billion in funding for low income heating assistance, a program already under assault by the Bush administration, as this story from a few days ago at WCAX in Vermont explains:
Senator Bernie Sanders continued his fight for home heating assistance in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
Sanders questioned Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson about a proposal in the president's budget to cut nearly $600 million from the heating assistance program.
"LIHEAP program, as you know, is heating assistance for low-income people, forty percent of whom are senior citizens. Tell me why it is a good idea, with oil prices soaring, to cut back on LIHEAP so people go cold in America?" Sanders asked.
"Well, it's a little bit like asking me, 'When did you stop beating your wife?'" Paulson replied. "That's a loaded question."
"Well, if you were beating your wife I'd ask you that," Sanders retorted. Paulson ultimately refused to answer the Senator's question.
Senate Democrats have proposed adding $1 billion in LIHEAP funds to the proposed economic stimulus package.
Note the bolded quote of Senator Sanders above. It would be an equally appropriate question for Mr. Goolsbee, Senator Obama's 'lead economic adviser'.
And if you think this is overstating the case, you might want in to check in with the good people of Maine:
Some of Maine's legislative leaders are hoping to make up for a lack of federal funds for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, by taking money from the state's Rainy Day fund.
House Speaker Glenn Cummings has proposed a bill to guarantee at least one full tank of oil for every Mainer who is eligible for LIHEAP. He would use five million dollars from the state's Rainy Day fund to pay for it.
LIHEAP funding typically comes from the federal government, but 85 percent of that money has already been distributed. And a bill to increase funding failed in the U.S. Senate Wednesday.
"We can't wait and we can't take on a wait and see approach to finding out whether Maine people's health and safety are at risk..." said Rep. Cummings.
A cogent point that Mr. Goolsbee, Senator Obama's 'lead economic adviser', who'll never himself have to make the choice between food and heat, would do well to consider before giving his sage advice.
p.s. There was no word on whether Mr. Goolsbee considered the extension of food stamps and unemployment insurance, also jettisoned, to be further examples of 'bureaucratic programs'.