Are you stimulated? With all this money floating around, why not?

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t gotten that stimulated feeling yet.

Oh, sure, I received my $500 economic stimulus check. Took that sucker right to the bank and deposited it into an account for my children to help them out when the tax bill for all of these government bailouts come due.

Let me see now, the American public has been made responsible for $787 billion via an economic stimulus program that was going to solve many (not all) of the financial woes of the nation.

Now those who predicted this program would turn things around are saying the American public is lousing things up by increasing their savings when they should be spending like there was no tomorrow.

Well, I can almost guarantee that if the people in Washington do not quit piling up the national debt for us that there will be no tomorrow. Not very long ago the pundits were lamenting the fact that “We The People” were saving at a rate nearing zero (2007), and now that it has increased to nearly 7 percent we are the cause of the problem.

I read where some idiot in Washington complained that “every dollar of savings comes out of consumption.” Maybe if the government decision-makers would adopt a “save” mentality, they wouldn’t be passing on this tax burden to this and future generations.

The projections that those folks in Washington were making on how the massive increases in the federal debt would be ameliorated by a turnaround in revenue (without large tax increases) were based on increased employment in 2009 and beyond.

Have you looked at the recent unemployment figures?

The announced figure for current unemployment is 9.5% (the administration had predicted a peak of 8%), which is probably understated by 50% or more and is further misleading in that it does not account for people who are underemployed by working fewer than 40 hours per week.

Since February, unemployment has increased by nearly 20% and is continuing to rise.

Where has the $787 billion in the “first” stimulus program gone? Very little has gone to the needed effort on the nation’s infrastructure. Most reports indicate perhaps 10% — and that is where the opportunity for increased employment exists, as well as beginning a fix on the infrastructure before catastrophic failures commence.

Instead, billions have been awarded to financial institutions (whose horrendous business practices contributed mightily to the current problems) such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, etc., and AIG is at the trough again.

Have you noticed that these mismanaged companies have returned to profitability again — it’s not too hard when you are using public money. And I thought the intent of bailing out these institutions was to increase the flow of money into the lending channels.

I’ve also been following the latest coming out of Washington, which is a proposed second economic stimulus program. It is being run up the flagpole to see who salutes it. What a shame.

If we think we have it bad now with the talk of federal income tax increases (and do not be fooled that it will only apply to upper-income brackets), cuts in Medicare (or increases in the premiums you pay), a new tax on health insurance benefits, etc., just wait a little bit when state and local governments raise our taxes to make up for the shortfalls in revenue resulting from unemployment and the extraordinary decline in real estate values.

I saw an interesting statistic the other day which noted that 15% of our economy is represented by taxes from state and local authorities. As Col. David Crockett said to fellow members of the Congress when he opposed a small government giveaway: “Not yours to give.”

Bayne’s column runs every Sunday on the editorial page.