On Jan 5, 2009, at 2:04 AM, Michael Pollak quoted Krugman:
> The biggest problem facing the Obama plan, however, is likely to be
> the
> demand of many politicians for proof that the benefits of the
> proposed
> public spending justify its costs -- a burden of proof never
> imposed on
> proposals for tax cuts.
Good thing for tax cuts, because investment tax credits would never past muster. They just don't work. No company ever made an investment because of a tax credit - firms only invest when they expect profits and have the cash (or can borrow it). An after-the-fact credit is just a gift. Personal tax cuts are nice for those who get them, but the economic effects could be minimal if they're saved or used to pay off debts - last year's rebate checks added a couple of tenths of a point to retail sales and were quickly forgotten.
This is the cost of Obama's post-partisanship - he'd rather roll over to the Reps than put up a fight. The guy Obama praised during the campaign, Ronald Reagan, would never have done this.
Doug