There is an opinion piece in yesterday’s New York Times about the current stimulus package being debated.  Evidently, during the Obama campaign, Larry Summers, the Harvard economist, built the case for a big but surgical stimulus package. Summers warned that a “poorly provided fiscal stimulus can have worse side effects than the disease that is to be cured.” He proposes three clear guidelines–first, the money should go out immediately, second, it should help middle and low-income people, and third, deficits caused by the stimulus package should not last for more than a year or two.  Good grief–I could vote for that stimulus package!

Larry Summers has become a top economic advisor to the Obama administration, and his suggestions are being totally ignored!  That is a shame–the man is making worthwhile proposals.  This bill permanently and drastically increases the size and intrusiveness of the federal government.  It needs to be stopped before it does serious damage.

Just a note–who are middle income people?  It seems to me that middle income in Kansas is different than middle income in Boston, New York, or Los Angeles.  I suspect that in Kansas you could live reasonably well on $ 40,000 to $ 50,000 a year; in Boston, New York, or Los Angeles that would be a struggle.  In the case of economic stimulus, one size does not fit all, and the only size that will benefit everyone is a decrease in taxes on corporations and on people who actually work.  Four million dollars given to ACORN is a political payback–not an economic stimulus.