DonÂ't Stimulate Me!
Washington's hotly debated economic stimulus package is better off lingering on lawmakers' desks indefinitely, according to this Against the Grain commentary by CBSNews.com's Dick Meyer.
If there's anything more ugly this December than irate Cleveland Browns fans armed with beer, it's vote-hungry members of Congress trying to stuff a present wrapped up as an "economic stimulus" package down the national chimney. It's time to light a fire in the hearth, play Scrooge and root for gridlock.
What is being referred to in Washington as the "stimulus bill" (and I think it's being referred to at all only inside the Washington beltway) is actually two distinct projects. One is to provide some assistance to people put out off work in the recession by extending their unemployment benefits and getting them health insurance. The other, separate project is to invigorate the sagging economy, mostly with tax cuts. Guess which party favors which project?
It is depressing that even after September 11, Congress has not be able to transcend petty partisanship enough to extend unemployment benefits and health coverage. Congress managed to get this done in past recessions, without the trauma of an attack on U.S. soil as an added motivator. But this year, as the rest of the country pulls together in so many ways, Congress continues to pull apart. They just can't agree on exactly whose benefits should be extended or how to help more of the unemployed retain their health insurance.
The need for such legislation certainly hasn't diminished since September. But at this point the price for action on unemployment and insurance would be swallowing a "stimulus" bill. It's too high a price, unfortunately.
Some economists and businesspeople say a recovery has already started. Others say any recovery will be halting and weak. Few say there will be no recovery at all without a cobbled together, second-round of tax reductions masquerading as a coherent plan to promote growth and job creation.
The sorts of stimulus deals being debated now are at best a fifty-fifty bet to help the economy at all. They are nothing more than tax breaks for corporations and upper tier individuals. The theory (yet again) is that they will boost investment, consumption and growth. The risk is that they will inflate deficits again as the country spends more on defense. Taxes have been lowered this year already. It's an unnecessary risk.
The jumbo corporate tax reductions Republicans want now probably wouldn't have much short-term effect on the economy. They are definitely not recession busters. But they would have huge long-term effects on patterns of taxing and spending in this country, and on the fairness and efficiency of the tax system.
That should be the debate, not this phony debate about economic stimulus. Republicans shouldn't be afraid to have that fight out in the open; they beat the Democrats onc this year, though now it seems like years ago. The frantic, deal-hungry last days of the legislative year are precisely the worst time to have such debate and negotiations.
Luckily, it looks like the pols won't be able to cut a deal, much to their chagrin.
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