Sometimes water is needed to put out fires

I find it amusing that if you give tax breaks to the top 2 percent (who pay less as a percentage of their income than we do) that cost $1.8 trillion, lie us into an unnecessary war that in the end will cost an equal amount (not to mention the cost in life) and pass laws that trample on our constitution (Patriot Act) give hundreds of billions in tax breaks to send 20,000 companies off shore and charge it all to the deficit, deregulate banks and cause a mini depression  and you hear not a peep from the right. Now if you try to do something for the poor or middle class it is communism, socialism and a complete government take over and internment camps are next.

Why did we need massive government spending? There are three kinds of spending: business, government and personal spending. Businesses had stopped spending and were not about to build a factory or increase production to build  products that there was zero demand for, the people were scared and many had lost their jobs and were buying necessities only. That leaves the federal government as the only entity that can spend money to try and keep the economy from imploding: Layoffs causing less spending, causing more layoffs, causing less spending and a free fall into the next depression.  At that point America had suffered 12 trillion in capital destruction (loss of the value of stocks and property) and it was losing 600,000 jobs per month in the fall of 2008. So a trillion to stop the hemorrhaging might be a good thing!

A good analogy is a town is on fire during a severe drought and there is a water shortage but you have to use the water which you desperately need to put out the fire.

DENNIS SHELLHORN

Sandpoint