From GDP to Jobs to Trade and Fear, Full Economic Recovery Could Take Years
Bridging the economic chasm could take years
What is to be done?
It is critical that we develop significant standby stimu-lus programs in case the more pessimistic views prove correct—a pessimism that has been justified by the depressing numbers that have come out. This will involve preparing infrastructure development and big, shovel-ready projects so that we can accelerate their passage from the planning stage into the development stage without unconscionable delays. This is where the concentration should be because a dollar invested in infrastructure generates a much greater future output than a dollar of transfer payments or a consumption-stimulating tax cut or social program, such as expenditures on education or healthcare.
Given the facts as they are, after the alarm has sounded loudly and the prospects are still dismal, we can appreciate why today the difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that an optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds—and the pessimist fears he may be right.
- Check out our political cartoons.
- Become a political insider: Subscribe to U.S. News Weekly, our new digital magazine.
Reader Comments
Why is this idiot allowed to write?
For someone so smart, how can he be so ignorant? More stimulus? More government? Please tell me when it has worked? What we need to do is bring our troops home, cut the federal government down to its constitutional size, give the citizens their money back and allow the corrections to happen so we can all get on with our lives. And U.S. News needs to fire Zuckerman immediately.
Stimulusing
Most economists and most politicians have been stimulusing us since after WW2. It has not done much for us.Creeping inflation that workers can not keep up with.Gold at almost 1000 dollars.Give the poor citizen a break and tie gold to the fiot dollar so we have some control over this foolishness.
Given the clear facts, why do Republicans fight stimulus?
Dear Mr. Zuckerman,
You present the facts concisely and clearly. As you point out, although we have backed away from the edge, we are still very close to falling into the Economic Abyss.
Just about all reputable and renowned economists--except for a few outliers--including both conservative and liberals economists (including economic thinkers as diverse as Krugman, Stiglitz, Feldstein and Bernanke), agree that we and the world needed, and still needs, massive economic stimuluis to get us out of this mess; the only disagreement is what constitutes better stimulus, and how much more stimulus we need.
So given this fact (i.e. just about all expert economists, including people like Bernanke, who is especially well regarded for his academic work about the Great Depression), how is it that Republicans all say that the stimulus is wrong?
By the same token, how is it that there is so much Republican sentiment against the idea that Global Warming is caused by Man (when just about all reputable climate scientists in the world--except a few outliers--agree that Man is causing Global Warming and there will be disasterous consequences for the world if we don't address this issue?
And why are most of the people who don't accept the theory of Evolution Republicans?
Have Republicans become the party of low intelligent people?
Mr. Zuckerman, I respect your ideas. Would you write a column about this?
I ask you this as a regretful former Republican?
advertisement
