How to End the Recession: from The Nation:

[amborin]

<snip>

"A large-scale federal government stimulus program is the only action that can possibly do the job......

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Beyond this, the stimulus program should be designed to meet three additional criteria. First, we have to generate the largest possible employment boost for a given level of new government spending. Second, the spending targets should be in areas that strengthen the economy in the long run, not just through a short-term money injection. And finally, despite the recession, we do not have the luxury of delaying the fight against global warming.

To further all these goals we need a green public-investment stimulus. It would defend state-level health and education projects against budget cuts; finance long-delayed upgrades for our roads, bridges, railroads and water management systems; and underwrite investments in energy efficiency--including building retrofits and public transportation--as well as new wind, solar, geothermal and biomass technologies.

This kind of stimulus would generate many more jobs--eighteen per $1 million in spending--than would programs to increase spending on the military and the oil industry (i.e., new military surges in Iraq or Afghanistan combined with "Drill, baby, drill"), which would generate only about 7.5 jobs for every $1 million spent.

There are two reasons for the green program's advantage. The first factor is higher "labor intensity" of spending--that is, more money is being spent on hiring people and less on machines, supplies and consuming energy. This becomes obvious if we imagine hiring teachers, nurses and bus drivers versus drilling for oil off the coasts of Florida, California and Alaska.

The second factor is the "domestic content" of spending--how much money is staying within the US economy, as opposed to buying imports or spending abroad. When we build a bridge in Minneapolis, upgrade the levee system in New Orleans or retrofit public buildings and private homes to raise their energy efficiency, virtually every dollar is spent within our economy.

By contrast, only 80 cents of every dollar spent in the oil industry remains in the United States. The figure is still lower with the military budget.

"

<http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081124/pollin>

[earthside]

1. Fighting the Last War?

That sounds all very well and good.

Deficit spending to "prime the pump" is what FDR ended-up trying to do in the 1930s and Keynesian economics is how the federal government has battled every recession since WW2.

But, never before has the federal government been $12 Trillion in debt already!

We really need to think through a gigantic 'stimulus' spending package that is going to add trillions of more dollars to the interest and debt owed by the federal government -- that is -- you and me (and our progeny).

The spending ideas from The Nation sound great, but I wonder if this isn't using the same strategies to fight this recession that were used in the past ... however, under different circumstances that will render them more hurt than help this time.

I would like to see some more creative thinking about how to deal with all of this debt being piled on top of more debt. Maybe we need some anti-trust action right away. Maybe we need some tariffs to stimulate American manufacturing again. Maybe we need to cut the military budget in half and close down at least half of our overseas bases.

I'm afraid that just spending more borrowed money is going to make the 'recession' a depression ... or leave us with a devastating spate of hyper-inflation.

[Winterblues]

2. Clinton had exactly the same goal in 1992

Remember we were in a Severe Recession back then as well. Clinton talked constantly about a stimulus package being essential. Republicans in a Democratic Majority Congress managed to block all attempts at doing that and yet we managed to pull out of the recessiona and go on to growth never before seen in this nation...

[fed_up_mother]

3. Unfortunately, it takes years to get public works projects on the ground

We should be financing them because it's the right thing to do, but in the meantime, we need faster ways to stimulate the economy.

[Not the Only One]

4. we need more rich taxpayers

The government should spend money to move people into higher paying jobs and careers, especially the emerging alt energy technology field. They should set up a lot of programs to hold the hand of interested Americans as they get educated and get placed into green positions. The government should cover the cost of this training/education, too. The US can make trillions of dollars in worldwide green energy commerce, which will reduce our deficit and debt. We have to be the worldwide leaders on this like we were with computer operating systems and the internet.

[Javaman]

5. Much like what happens after a country declares war and is put on a

war footing and budget which basically takes over every aspect of civilian life to win the war, I think a similar thing needs to be done for energy, environment and the economy. They all go hand in hand and as such a new type of "war" footing needs to be declared. One in which gives the president and the congress sweeping powers to invest and rebuild the basic elements of the nation.

but hey, that's just me.

[99th_Monkey]

6. For good measure, I'd also structure new "green" companies as WORKER-OWNED i.e. outsource-proof. ~nt