And Republicans have an attractive message: cut the pork, reduce taxes, and, if we must spend gobs of money, do it on worthwhile infrastructure and needed national defense projects.
There’s a trap in there. I don’t know who has been proposing “worthwhile infrastructure” projects, but much of the criticism of the package from the right has been over the fact that infrastructure projects, in Thomas Sowell’s words, are like sending a letter to the fire department informing them that your house is on fire. In other words, if it’s a worthwhile infrastructure project, it’ll be a worthless stimulus move, and vice-versa.
Time to keep cool heads, and not go off in six different directions. If you want stimulus, do stimulus. If you want infrastructure, do infrastructure. The twofer is a mirage. We can’t possibly mobilize these infrastructure projects in time for them to be of any stimulus value.
