Drip, Drip, Drip

I just hope he knows it's plastic...

So, as per usual, we are getting the leaks of the President's job's proposal.  It will be $300,000,000,000 in mostly tax cuts, especially payroll taxes, offset by future tax increases.

Seems sane, I guess.

A DKos, they make a poor point that the stimulus was three or four times as large and didn't prompt a recovery.  That's a shame, because that is the "right wing frame" of the stimulus.  What the Stimulus Bill did was prevent another Great Depression.  In effect, the economy was in cardiac arrest and the Stimulus Bill was like a defibrillator.  The idea was that the patient was otherwise healthy, and once shocked back into regular rhythm would bounce back.

Unfortunately, the cardiac arrest also came with high blood pressure, too.

And then, in the midst of the patient's slow recovery, a bunch of ass took over the hospital cafeteria and began feeding the patient a steady diet of transfats, cigarettes and Twinkies.

So, is $300B enough?

I guess it depends on how sick the patient really is.  Some of the guys at Bonddad's blog think there are some reasons to be optimistic.

It seems to me like $300B is a compromise between what he wanted and what he thought stood a rat's chance of passage.  Personally, I would still like to see some sort of direct hiring by the government to build roads, bridges and schools.

Even with direct spending not in there, it's unlikely to pass anyway, which is why I'll be disappointed by an emphasis on tax cuts.  They are not very effective stimulus and they continue to reinforce the idea that taxes hurt the economy and that there is no direct role for the government to play in employment.

On the other hand, he puts the GOP in the position of having to veto tax breaks.  That will be fun to watch.