Spending Vs. Cuts.

I have said time and time again that this crisis is new unchartered and difficult territory. There is a lot of legitimate debate going on. The general consensus is not if, but what to do. the "what" is generally spending vs. tax cuts. I'll admit my gut reaction is for spending.

The gut level reaction is based on the thought that our infrastructure is in need of updating. So if we spend on these projects and we still do not come of the recession at least we have addressed our infrastructure needs. This is the same logic I used when addressing the spending on school construction and updating. Now it is imperative that this be done in a manner that has unprecedented scrutiny. Is there going be something that some can characterize as waste. Yes. There has to be a great effort to minimize this.

My gut level on tax cuts is that If I were to get a little extra money back I am going to do one of two things. The first is to put it in the bank. If it is a little bit of money, maybe buy an extra latte every week. So either the money is not going to be thoroughly recycled through the economy or I will help Starbucks a little bit. If this fails to stimulate the economy, what do we have to show for it as a country. Our bridges are still beat up, our schools are still in need of help.

I came across this article in Freakonomics that provides for another possible argument for spending vs. cuts.


http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/tax-cuts-vs-government-spending/