Simple.
The GOP-led Congress should draft and pass the “Barack Obama Stimulus Act of 2012 (aka. “American Jobs Act”) containing substantially all of the program that the Presidential teleprompter channeled through Obama.
Why?
First, let’s acknowledge that the money will be a complete waste. There’s no reason to expect that Son-of-Stimulus will be any more successful than its predecessor.
And, I’m assuming that the price tag really is $450 billion – chump change in this era of reckless spending that rewards irresponsibility and mortgages the future…. especially since the President promised that it would be paid for (yeah, right).
The biggest political downside (to the GOP and the country) is that Obama will have a $450 billion election year slush fund to sprinkle across his constituencies – unions, blue-state governments, etc.
But, passing Stimulus Deux would clearly put the economic recovery — or lack thereof — on Obama’s shoulders.
If it turns the economy around, Obama gets the credit. That’s fair.
If it bombs, Obama loses his major campaign pitch: the GOP tied my hands.
He’d be left with the silly claim: “woulda been worse, I saved you from Armageddon again”.
I say pass it and sit back.
If it works, we have an economic burst.
If it fails, we get a president who understands business and economics.
For the country, it’s a win either way.
September 9, 2011 at 9:38 am |
if $450 billion is chump change…….. we are truly sunk
September 9, 2011 at 9:49 am |
On a side note…dollars to donuts that Krugman argues that $450B is NOT enough…if a recovery happens he says “Obama started this but it could have been more robust”….. if no recovery occurs he says “see I told you the stimulus was too small” He cannot be wrong.