We May Need a Bigger Stimulus, Say Analysts

Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment

(NEWSER) - Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when they had the chance. "Voters across America are in a bad mood, largely because of the still-grim economic situation. And when voters are feeling bad, they turn on whomever currently holds office." More»

(NEWSER) - After a meeting today with the administration's top economic officials, President Obama said he’s starting to see “glimmers of hope,” Bloomberg reports. The president noted that government loans to small business are up but cautioned, “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.” Factory orders are up for the first time since July and home buying continues to rise, but unemployment is expected to continue to climb. More»

Team searches for ways to bolster economy

(NEWSER) - With economic recovery looking sluggish at best , President Obama is considering a national infrastructure program, alongside a wave of tax cuts for businesses and individuals. Up for discussion are additional tax cuts for small businesses, a possible payroll tax cut for businesses and individuals, and other tax breaks aimed at encouraging businesses to hire, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . More»

State budget cuts are wiping out the effects of the stimulus

(NEWSER) - The success of the Obama stimulus in creating jobs has been broadly, and furiously, debated—and will continue to be as the election season nears. But Ezra Klein argues today that in the end it's the "anti-stimulus"—the massive constriction of state budgets—that will decide our economic fate. Budget gaps in 46 states have led them to slash jobs and/or raise taxes, overwhelming the effect of the stimulus. "In an effort to do right by the numbers, they're doing wrong by the economy." More»

Critics who say it's failed are off base: David Leonhardt

(NEWSER) - It may not “yet feel like much of a recovery” to jobless Americans, President Obama concedes, but it’s thanks to the massive economic stimulus package passed a year ago “that a second depression is no longer a possibility.” Obama celebrated the anniversary of the recovery act today with a reminder that it had saved or created around 2 million jobs. And David Leonhardt seconds the president's claim. The “best-known economic research firms” all agree with the president’s jobs numbers, he writes in the New York Times . More»