Andrew Snyder (Today’s Financial News):

Get ready for Stimulus Version 2.0. With unemployment in double-digit territory, credit still tight and consumers refusing to part with their cash, it’s obvious Washington’s first bailout did nothing but put the nation even further in debt and give China an even larger stake of the country’s financial future.

Instead of stepping back and searching for a viable solution (if there is any), Obama is jumping right back into the stimulus game.

But of course, the word stimulus is nowhere to be found. This is a jobs program.

Sure, it contains another $50 billion for roads, bridges and water projects… just like the first version.

Sure, green energy and “weatherization” is a strategic focus… just like the first version.

And of course, it promises to boost hiring across the country… just like the first version.

Unfortunately, we all know Stimulus Version 1.0 was a big, fat flop. It cost the nation nearly a trillion dollars, has put our triple-A credit rating at risk and, worst of all, was managed worse than the Detroit Lions.

Now, they want to do it again.

Well, Mr. President, when it comes to my hard-earned tax dollars, you don’t get a mulligan. There are no do-overs in the world of global economics. You do or you die.

The fact that $200 billion worth of TARP money is at stake is what scares me the most. It portrays this government’s reckless abandonment of the law. (Never mind the fact that some two-thirds of the original stimulus is still warming in some apparently forgotten account).

Lest we forget what TARP stands for: Troubled Asset Relief Program, not give a penny, take a penny.

Finally… the dollar. After a couple of weeks of doing his best to reassure China and other lenders that our national debt was not spiraling out of control, Obama is talking out the other side of his mouth today.

In his speech earlier today, the President said, “We are going to have to spend our way out of this recession.”

In the same speech he promised tax cuts for small businesses, an elimination of loan fees and – I can’t believe I am going to write this – the creation of a “Cash for Caulkers” program.

That can’t be good news for the dollar’s recent rally.

But really, the dollar story comes down to one thing, and it has nothing to do with politics or government programs. We all know the economy will naturally heal itself. Much of the progress Obama is claiming as his own is a result of this natural process.

If you think the American economy will strengthen on its own over the next year, you’re a dollar bull. If you think Obama’s spending will outweigh any economic growth, you’re a bear.

As for me, I’m a fan of the cycle. The hot-air machine in Washington can do whatever it can get away with and the natural economy won’t sway in one direction or the other.

We’re in a cyclical recovery and that’s good for the dollar. Unfortunately, as I said on Friday, that’s not good for the equities market.

It’s times like these it pays to be a contrarian.

Original source for this article: Contrarian Profits