Another stimulus plan? Is this really what we should be doing?

More money always sounds great, and the $152 billion economic stimulus package of 2008 that was signed into law this past February certainly provided millions of Americans with a very welcome check in the mail. Now congressional democrats and some republicans are speaking of a second stimulus package to try to help avert economic recession in our country, or at least cause the recession to be short lived.

The details of any sort of second stimulus package are very unclear at this point. It is unclear whether Americans would be getting another large check to go spend however they please once again or if the stimulus would be targeted to certain areas that are hurting very badly. House democrats have been the leaders in the push for a second stimulus package. House leader Nancy Pelosi says that the second package should include money for infrastructure rebuilding, as well unemployment benefits and food stamps.

Before today it appeared that the democrats would face significant opposition to any additional stimulus package, but it seems that the economic crisis has caused others to reconsider their previous stances. Today Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told congress that a second stimulus package may well be needed as the economy could be in for an extended period of deflation. President Bush, who had been saying he would be opposed to a second stimulus plan is now saying he is "open" to another stimulus package from the government.

I completely understand that there is more needed to be done to help stimulate our economy, but I question whether giving people money for "free" and encouraging them to spend it in our economy is really the long term solution to the economic problems we face. I believe this could create a side show and also lead to a huge increase in an already astronomical national debt figure.

The national debt of this country must be gotten under control, and government must realize that it can't just keep spending billions of dollars to try to avert a decline in the economy. I completely agree with moving to help our financial system stay out of crisis and avoid another depression like scenario, but there also times when government must sit back and allow the economic situation to play itself out. Invest more in things like infrastructure, that is fine, but don't keep spending billions of dollars sending checks to consumers hoping they'll blow all of those checks on something at their nearest mall.