Stimulus Package Needs Big Thinking

So-called "broad-based tax relief" earlier in President Bush's term helped widen the economic gap between low- and middle-income Americans and the rich, and—combined with runaway spending on the Iraq war—makes it almost impossible to pay for the government programs that could cushion the blow of a recession for those most vulnerable. What's really needed is a more targeted tax policy for working-class people; a spending program that helps rebuild the nation's public assets, like roads, bridges and schools; and aid to state governments, whose tax bases are shrinking dramatically because of the mortgage crisis. Groups like the Economic Policy Institute have a plan that would be about the size of the stimulus package that President Bush is proposing, but would be much more effective in helping the economy truly recover.