Ruth Marcus – Whose Stimulus Makes the Grade? – washingtonpost.com
One of the benefits of an extended presidential campaign is that it presents real-world tests for candidates. Some take the form of pop quizzes assessing contenders’ instincts in a crisis. Others are more like take-home exams — the latest, and perhaps most revealing, being competing plans for an economic stimulus.
In practical terms, this is irrelevant: The moment for stimulus will be long past by Inauguration Day. But as a way of judging how candidates view government’s role, how they balance politics and policy, and how sound their thinking is on economic policy, the proposals offer a revealing report card.
My grading starts with President Bush, because he sets the curve.
George W. Bush: B-minus. …
Barack Obama: A-minus. I criticized his previous tax plan, but Obama is at the head of the class with an intelligently designed, $120 billion stimulus plan. He would speed a $250 tax credit to most workers, followed by another $250, triggered automatically, if the economy continues on its sour path. Obama would direct a similar rebate to low- and middle-income seniors, who are also apt to spend and could get checks quickly. One demerit: Obama omits any increase in food stamp benefits, which Moody’s estimates would have the greatest bang for the buck, $1.73 for every dollar spent.
John Edwards: B-minus. …
Hillary Clinton: C-plus. Clinton, too, raised the issue early, then turned in a faulty first draft with a $70 billion stimulus plan that didn’t provide much immediate stimulation. It included a $25 billion increase in the program to help low-income Americans with heating costs — an excessive amount (the current program is under $3 billion) that probably wouldn’t kick in until next winter. Even worse was her housing plan, including a five-year freeze on subprime mortgage rates that could produce higher interest rates and reduce liquidity.
Four days later, Clinton said she would immediately implement a $40 billion tax rebate plan she had put in reserve in her first draft. Fine, but overall, the Obama plan devotes a far greater percentage to spending that is more likely to jump-start the economy.
John McCain: D-plus. …
Mitt Romney: D. …
Mike Huckabee: D-minus. …
Rudy Giuliani: Incomplete. …
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012202614.html