Congress is toying with a second stimulus package, though according to this AP article they are reluctant to use that term…. really they shouldn’t have used that term for the first so-called stimulus since it was just a monsterous spending give away not at all focused on “stimulating” job creation or economic activity beyond throwing money at myriad Democrat pet projects and interest groups.
Some of the ideas discussed in this article seem perfectly fine–tax credit for new jobs, making it easier for companies to deduct loses, etc.–but instead of a piecemeal approach it seems like it would make sense to focus on addressing things that really impede growth and job creation. For starters, why not go back and look at the first “stimulus” and figure out what spending scheduled years in the future is really necessary (even Democrats who take an honest look at how much of the money is being used have to recognize that there are more urgent priorities). That would leave more money for supporting policies that would actually help today — such as an across the board tax cut for individuals or even businesses or on investment. Maybe offer an alternative to the existing tax code and allow corporations to choose between a lower tax rate but without all the deductions–that way it would also cut down on the time lost to trying to comply with complicated tax policy.
And of course, what might be most “stimulating” would be for Congress to stop contemplating costly, counter-productive policies that would raise the cost of doing business in the U.S. President Obama could come out and say that we are going to forget doing cap-and-trade legislation this year or next because the problem of joblessness today is more pressing than the potential for slightly higher temperatures in a hundred years (especially as the U.S. bunkers down for what might be one of our coldest winters), and enacting a costly carbon tax would be the wrong direction in terms of helping the economy. Same with healthcare — a trillion dollar spending bill and massive revamping on 1/7 of the economy at a minimum introduces a lot of uncertainy into the U.S. economy. President Obama could delay his health care push and instead focus the Administration’s energies on true job creations. Get his experts to look at what regulations are unnecessary and just drive up the cost of employment, or consider fundamental tax reform that might encourage entrepreneurship…
It’s not going to happen, I know, but a girl can dream…