My Dear Senators Nelson and Martinez of Florida,

Soon you'll be debating and voting on the H.R.1 bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,  which is also known as the "Stimulus Package." The House version is $819 billion. Your version in the Senate is closer to $900 billion. Regardless of the amount, I strongly urge you to vote against such a bill.

Just prior to the 2008 presidential election, Congress and the Bush Administration hastily passed a $700 billion Bailout Package. Just like I'm doing now, I begged you then to vote against that legislation. Surprisingly, Senator Nelson (D) was the only one with the guts to vote "No."

Prior to that, earlier in 2008, Congress and the Bush Administration also passed the $150 billion Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act 2008, the one in which some, not all, tax payers received a $600 rebate check.

Time has proven that the $150 billion rebate and the $700 billion bailout had no positive effect in our economy. I think it's clear that throwing massive amounts of money at the economic problem is not the solution. The argument, of course, is that we really don't know what the current economic condition would be like had the $150 billion and the $700 billion bills been rejected. True. But, it is undisputable that despite the $850 billion we've already spent, credit is still frozen, financial institutions are still at risk of collapsing, folks are still losing jobs and mortgage defaults as well as foreclosures continue to climb. In other words, the economic conditions the money was supposed to solve, are still present and getting worse.

The new Congress and the Obama Administration are now touting that the Stimulus Package is the right solution. Why, pray tell, should we believe it? The 650-page H.R.1 bill is filled with garbage spending and only a handful of provisions worth pursuing. It seems to me that many provisions are the ones the 110th Congress could not pass due to veto and/or filibuster threats. To me, such provision seem as Congress thumbing its nose at the Bush Administration; i.e., they are retaliatory, opportunistic and hastily included while the Country is still in its euphoric state after the historical election of our new President.

Here's what I think will work:

1.       Lower taxes for everyone. Let the folks and businesses keep more of the money they make. When I have a few extra bucks in my pocket, I spend it. I'll take a trip, buy a TV, go out to a nice restaurant. Most of the people I know do the same. If I were in your shoes, I would propose a year-long tax sabbatical. Reducing taxes now will immediately increase the amount of everyone's paycheck.

2.       Cut spending. Eliminate all the superfluous government programs you, our legislators, have forced us to support, and use the money to rebuilding roads, levees, and bridges. And, to avoid more unemployment, give the folks displaced by the eliminated programs the first right of refusal on the new infrastructure jobs.

3.       Let failing businesses fail. Banks, automobile companies, airlines... let them fail if they must! In time, the remaining, well-run, successful companies in each industry will pick up the slack and become stronger and more successful. Surely, some folks will suffer, but I suspect they'll suffer only for a short while. We've had many large corporations disappear over time and we seem to have done just fine without any government intervention. By pouring our tax money into failing companies, you are forcing us to invest in businesses we would not otherwise invest into on our own. We want to support success and we do not tolerate failure, particularly if it was caused by stupitidy and/or greed.

I say, stick to your duties of guarding our safety and ensuring that those caught trying to cheat us out of pursuing our happiness are swiftly and severely punished. Echoing what our new President said during his inaugural address, I believe we, the American People, are perfectly capable of picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off, and of rebuilding our economy, ourselves, alone, without government's intervention, fueled by our own ingenuity and hard work. All we need from you right now is to stop taking and misspending our hard-earned money. Lower our taxes, cut your spending and quit rewarding the losers amongst us.

Cordially,

Willy Esteban
Plantation, FL