Unless the country is willing to accept perhaps 10 years of poor economic growth, a second federal stimulus package is needed. Fearful Democrats already are being cowed by Republican protests regarding deficits. Politicians, especially Democratic ones, should realize that a second stimulus package will actually be good politics.
Hateful as it is, between now and the 2010 elections unemployment is going to increase and residential foreclosures will rise substantially. Imagine what most Americans will be concerned about after another year of increased unemployment and foreclosures. Even if they have not lost their own jobs or homes, they will certainly know many more friends and family members who have. By 2010, they will be focused on jobs and economic growth, not on the federal government’s deficits. And they will be right.