Will it be enough to keep the U.S. economy from slipping into recession?
According to the classic definition of a recession—two consecutive quarters of falling national income—we’re not there yet and it’s not even clear that left to just bumble along the economy would enter a recession. But failing to act would cause the economy to underperform relative to the growth of the 1990s or the first half of this decade. Definitions notwithstanding, there are certain sectors of the economy—like housing and various import-sensitive industries—that are clearly experiencing the full effects of a recession right now. What’s really wrong with the economy and does the plan address those problems? There are a bunch of structural problems that need to be addressed, but I can’t see that happening until after the election. At the top of my list I’d put a generation of politicians who have told wealthy Americans they are overtaxed—and that there are no consequences to further tax cuts; the looming deficit in Medicare; the lack of portability in health insurance across jobs; a
