What the Stimulus Does Do is Help the Poor

Well at least the stimulus is good for something. It will make poor people stay that way.

People who get food stamps — 30 million and growing — will get more. People drawing unemployment checks — 4.8 million and growing — would get an extra $25, and keep those checks coming longer. People who get Supplemental Security Income — 7 million poor Americans who are elderly, blind or disabled — would get one-time extra payments of $250.

The idea of giving people $25 more in they unemployment checks is so asinine that it is insulting. That amounts to like a movie for 2 people or a few Subway footlong sandwiches. This part is especially bad:

Advocates for the poor say that directing stimulus money to the neediest Americans makes sense because they're the most likely to put cash back into the economy quickly.

"Poor people just spend money faster, because they're really living at the edge," said Elizabeth Lower-Basch, a senior policy analyst at the private Center for Law and Social Policy.

Yeah but the poor spend money fast but then they are right back where they started. The goal should be getting a poor person to be a middle class person. Adult education and help finding good jobs even in the government sector is what this bill should stimulate. Also you want to provide incentive to keep the person away from "living at the edge" and move them toward saving for the future. This part is especially pie-in-the-sky:

Sharon Parrott, a senior analyst at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, said that while the benefits provided under the stimulus program are short-term, they could have a lasting impact on families by helping them maintain stable housing and avoiding disruptions in schooling.

Providing short term benefits does not maintain anything. To maintain stable housing you need to give a person a steady stream of income not a one time $250 that they can't even use to pay 1 months rent or $25 extra dollars per unemployment check.