Politics

Now it's up to Bush and Congress

By Matt Cooper

Well, so much for inflation fears. And a good thing, too. The rate cut was needed and the dribbling of half and quarter point cuts. This probably won't either. But it's better than nothing. Now would be a good time for Congress and the President to get their stimulus package done and out there so it doesn't dribble. I can understand the Bush-Paulson argument that poeple who don't pay taxes shouldn't get a tax rebate. But in practice the 50 million or so non itemizers pay tons of FICA tax so it's not like they're scofflaws. And they will spend the money right away because they can't afford not to. All of this is so much showmanship. With a federal budget of around $3 trillion, another $100 billion or so of spending is not going to make a big difference. But psychologically it can't hurt at this point.

Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on January 22, 2008 (boomark / email).