Stimulus Calculations From Krugman

This entry from Paul Krugman’s blog is well worth reading: Stimulus arithmetic (wonkish but important) – Paul Krugman Blog – NYTimes.com

I agree with the basic conclusion. As things are shaping up the stimulus plan being put together is a whole lot weaker than we need. And it appears to be that way purely to buy Republican votes in the Senate.

Why is Obama being so lame at this critical moment? I hope this is not an example of his style. If it is we are not as surely led as I had hoped. We need leadership and risk taking at the top. Not ‘reaching out’ and consensus building. The GOP has little to lose by being obstructionist. Heck with them.

Note:

One thing to emerge from Krugman’s note is that the tax cuts being proposed have a very mixed impact: the payroll tax cut is reasonably effective, but the business cuts are pretty much wasted.