What could a second economic stimulus package do better?
While murmured calls for a new stimulus package have not quite transformed into a movement, the din is loud enough that the White House has issued multiple responses that basically amount to “no, not yet.” But Americans are stumbling through a job market that is overwhelmed with supply, stripped of security, and skimmed of hours and benefits, and the unemployment rate has already climbed much higher than officials had forecast. So, the real question is, what could a second Obama administration stimulus do that the first one couldn’t? To answer that, it’s necessary to know how the first $787 billion package has disappointed. An overly optimistic forecast: The goal of the first Obama stimulus was job preservation and creation, through instruments such as infrastructure spending and expanded jobless benefits. In a report the administration used to make its case for the stimulus, White House economists forecast unemployment rates cresting at 8 and 9 percent — with and without the stimulus
