Blunt calls for five-year federal spending freeze

From Think Progress:

Evidently, the GOP believes that Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R-AL) two year spending freeze and Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) three year freeze were not crazy enough, and thus, have settled on a five year freeze. The budget basically confirms that the Republican strategy is to negate the stimulus, while betting economic recovery will occur thanks to an abundance of supply-side tax cuts.

As we’ve noted before, the stimulus package’s main purpose is to close the GDP gap by spurring spending by households, government and the private sector. A spending freeze would blunt this, while also allowing inflation to eat away at vital funding for programs like Head Start and Pell Grants.

As USA Today reported today, “early federal stimulus money appears to be hitting its target, paying for new projects and creating jobs.” But Republicans would rather scrap that, to embrace a Neo-Hoover, anti-stimulus plan that doesn’t “make a bit of sense” at all.

H'ray, Hoover!