Monday, February 09, 2009

Random thoughts: Stimulus, Trades, and Books


I don't pretend to be a political person so I guess this post is my first shot at understanding it all. I watched the President's nationally televised news conference. I have watched our previous president's addresses and honestly cringed at every word he uttered. With President Obama, it honestly seems that he knows what he is talking about. So let's move onto this stimulus package we have been hearing about so much.

President Obama is pushing for a bill that would cost $800 billion that will supposedly surge the US economy. He stated in his address tonight that doing nothing is not the answer and we must act swiftly and aggressively. And if we didn't, this economic crisis will end up being a catastrophe. Now, these are all words that would scare the commoner [like myself], and I would normally say "Well, what are we waiting for? Hand out that cash!" Obviously last year's stimulus package did not do well for the economy, so in order for this one to work it has to be vastly different from last years. I believe this package will put more money into the middle class than to the wealthy [where last year's package was geared for?]. But one huge difference between Bush's package last year and this year's package is the amount Bush - $170 billion compared to Obama's $800 billion. What worries me is if this does not work, will this just cripple the economy THAT much more? Republicans and Democrats, school me on this.

Alright, onto something I know a little more about. Amar'e Stoudamire to the Bulls? Why not? Sure it's just speculation at this point and honestly just fun to talk about, so let's talk about it. There were a couple of different scenarios, but most deal with Tyrus Thomas since he has been playing well as of late. It's no secret that the Suns lack any type of defense whether perimeter or inside, so the long reach and spring of Tyrus Thomas would be a great asset for them. Would they get any further in the playoffs? I'm not so sure about that. Amar'e is a much bigger offensive threat compared to Tyrus because he is such a bigger presence down low. He can use brute force to get his points where Tyrus needs an opening or an alley oop. Tyrus can't even post up Earl Boykins where Amar'e will dunk [or at least try] to dunk on your entire family. I am sure any deal that the Bulls make would have to involve Drew Gooden or Larry Hughes. I think money contract-wise this would make sense because I think Tyrus is on his rookie contract with his option exercised so we would need to give up another contract closer to $11 million or so. With Gooden looking to finish his contract this season with around $7 million, he would fit in well with maybe a Joakim Noah. So yes, there goes pretty much all of our "big men" but what would you really be losing? I am tired of waiting for our draft picks to figure things out, with the exception of Derrick Rose. We need to also clear up that logjam at the guard position: Rose, Gordon, Hinrich, Sefolosha, Hughes, and Hunter. We can deal pretty much anyone but Rose. Gordon once again showed why he is no better than a 6th man when he turned over the ball twice in two important possessions at the end of regulation against Dallas. He is not your go-to guy. He is best when a play is designed for him to be wide open, and unfortunately, with the new coach, those plays do not exist. It will be hard to trade him because he can say no to a trade in his last year of his contract. Hinrich probably carries the most value of the tradable guards. I think his defense is overrated, it just looks good on this team where no guard can play D. He is a hard worker and will do well on any team...who needs him? Thabo is actually pretty good at defense. With his length it is easy for him to get in the passing lanes and distract an offensive player. Remember how he did against D-Wade in the 2007 playoffs? Shut him down! Thabo just needs to be given a chance. So I guess what I'm trying to say is...PLEASE MAKE A MOVE, PAX!!

Jaz has been reading a lot lately with her Twilight books and some books she has borrowed from her co-workers. So I decided to take up reading again. The last book I read was the last Harry Potter book. I got this book "Anything Goes" by Madison Smartt Bell quite sometime ago and have never gotten through it. I probably only got 50 pages in during the four times I tried. So I am going to finish this one this time! I'll write a review when I actually finish it THIS time!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Joey! Well, I won't pretend to be an expert on the stimulus package either... my two cents? This is one gigantic experiment and quite frankly, it is scary. I won't pretend I know what most people would spend that money on so I'll say this... Some people will go out and spend the money... some of that money will stay in the US and some will go abroad. So it could help the US economy somewhat. Depends what people are buying. Many other people will hold onto that money for savings... does that stimulate the economy? No. If I get any money out of this I know I won't be spending it because I, like most other people I know, would rather save it for a rainy day. So, really I guess I wouldn't be helping the economy with that money. And remember, this is money that we (and our children) will have to pay back later (in the form of higher taxes). So the way I see it, giving us some relief now = more pain later. That said, the current economy is in horrible shape. Maybe this package will help mitigate its momentum. Wish I knew... tough decision to make, I can only pray it's going in the right direction!