Media Alert: Jim Babka will be on the radio today and Sunday. See the P.S. below the signature.

Quote of the Day: "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. Sell not liberty to purchase power." -- Benjamin Franklin

Subject: $61 billion stimulus package failed in the Senate

Lost in the noise of the election was the good news that the Senate rejected a $61 billion stimulus package that the House had passed earlier.

But House Democrats are still pushing for another stimulus package that they will try to pass in a lame duck session. The details are constantly shifting, but this proposal would add another $150 billion to $165 billion to a national debt that has grown by nearly a trillion dollars in the space of about a month.

The good news on this front is that a new stimulus package will once again meet resistance in the Senate, and the Bush White House has signaled that it will not support the package.

The bad news is that President Bush has left open the possibility that he would support a different type of stimulus package. The President has not explained what he has in mind, but you can bet that it will involve horse trading with the Democrats so that the Republicans get spending they want in return for spending the Democrats want.

Remember, this is your money they're playing with.

Meanwhile, the talking heads on CNBC are claiming that the stimulus package is needed to prevent budget cuts by state governments that are losing revenues due to the economic downturn. In fact, California has an $8 billion shortfall, and is danger of default. We think downsizing is the answer to this problem, but the politicians and the talking heads think more borrowing is needed. Think of what their argument implies . . .

It's okay for you to have to downsize your personal budget when times get tight, but no level of government must ever have to downsize, no matter what the circumstances. Government must always remain large, and must always grow, even at the expense of taking more money from the productive economy.

The idea of a "stimulus package" continues to be the threat of the moment. We must continue to fight it. Government should be cutting its spending right now. Use our Educate the Powerful System to tell Congress to oppose any increased spending, and any "stimulus package" of any kind.

And stay tuned next week for big new announcements designed to move us forward in a bold way.

Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC army.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

P.S. Jim Babka will be making his regular Friday appearence on the Jerry Hughes show. Details are here. And Jim will be a guest on the March of Liberty show on Sunday; click here for deails.