Despite opposition in Congress to a broader rescue package for General Motors an Chrysler, the debate continues. Even if the matter is dropped this year, President-elect Obama is under intense pressure to deal with it early in 2009. David Brooks makes the case against action, Robert Samuelson for tough love and a posting on Kauffman Foundation blog links the debate back to the old one on creative destruction. On the other side, see Bruce Josten's letter on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce. Who's right?
9 responses: James K. Galbraith, John Maggs, Edward Leamer, Gary Burtless, Grover Norquist, Bruce Josten, John Maggs, Jared Bernstein, Ryan Ellis
President-elect Obama on Friday suggested that he would continue with his campaign tax plan, which would involve cutting taxes for most taxpayers and raising them for those earning more than $250,000 a year (a threshold he recently suggested might be lowered to $150,000.) His proposal also involved cutting capital gains taxes for lower-income earners but raising them for others. Assuming that the tax cuts would be speeded up via rebate, how does the Obama plan rate as a stimulus measure? Would raising taxes at the high end during a recession be a bad idea?
-- John Maggs, NationalJournal.com
6 responses: Ryan Ellis, Mark Bloomfield, Gary Burtless, Isabel Sawhill, Jeffrey Frankel, Gene Steuerle
Is a mortgage bailout plan imperative to stabilize the financial system and revive the economy?
Glenn Hubbard and Chris Mayer have advanced one plan, and John Geanakoplos and Susan Koniak another. John McCain has proposed spending $300 billion in a plan that focuses on helping encourage banks to renegotiate mortgages. What are the strengths and weaknesses of theses proposals? What are the alternatives?
