Necessary, But Not Sufficient

Congress finally passed the Stimulus Package last week, and President Obama will sign it into law Wednesday. The consensus from economists (and everyone else, for that matter) is that this step is necessary but not sufficient. Paul Krugman has the same relative take. What's needed now is massive, continued federal intervention in the private economy. We need infrastructure, we need make-work jobs, and we need assurance that those items will be forthcoming for years. We do not need tax cuts, and unfortunately the Stimulus Package is laden with them...up to 40% of the nearly $800bn total. We'll definitely need another shot in the arm, as this severe recession may last 5 years or more. It's time to bring Keynes back into our national dialog.