The situation is critical. We're not going to correct it by trying to stop the bleeding with a band aid. If ever there was a time and opportunity to really change the dynamics of the country, this is it.

Why wasn't there an effort to get Democrats out there to explain why we have to spend now?  Why haven't they explained what the next steps are?  Why haven't the Democrats stressed how the Republicans' irresponsible handling of the economy helped get us to this point, and painted a picture of what will happen if those policies are allowed to continue?

If ever there was a time the American public needed to be educated about the economy, it is now, and for the life of me I do not understand why all the effort seems to have gone into charming a bunch of spoiled politicians instead of driving public support for the Democratic plan.  Maybe it's because it's hard to call a bill a plan, even if it does come with an enormous price tag.  A plan is something with organization and defined steps and stages and bullet points and flow charts, and all of those pieces and parts have targeted goals and timelines and benchmarks and options for when results deviate from what was expected.  A plan has people whose job it is to go out and explain it to people, to sell it, to use it to assuage fear and inspire confidence.  Where is all of that?  

I'm sorry, but Barack Obama's considerable charm is not a plan, winning the WH is not a plan.  The American people elected Democrats because they believed Dems were the ones who could fix this mess, and they deserve more than what they are getting.  I'd be willing to bet there are millions of people who no longer believe that the health care system stands a snowball's chance in hell of being reformed - not if this is the way the Dems are approaching the problems with the economy.

I don't think it large enough either, but I think it needs to be twice what it is because of the delay in introducing the legislation which should have been done last summer.  

The economy has contracted too much and as I predicted on numerous occasions last year, layoffs accelerated accordingly.  

It is too late now to prevent a record number of foreclosures and bankruptcies although I think UE will rise to 9 and hold for at least a year.

When you wait too long to enact legislation that takes months to hit the street, you have to deal with the spiral effect.  Welcome to twisterland.

So here is what needs to be done.  Stop negotiating with the banks for more funding to paying bonuses (ok so maybe the money was not directly used for bonuses but when you "need" help and blame the "lying mortgage applicants who could not afford so much home" and then take bonuses) and create a gov't controlled mortgage financeer that owns at risk mortgages.  I have summarized it here previously.

Tell states they have 7 days to present shovel ready projects and costs for review.  That means states have to get estimates which they probably already have for overdue projects and be ready to start 30 days post passing of the legislation.

Declare February and March payroll tax free for employees and employers.

Tell taxpayers that anything they pay OVER on April 15th will be counted as double for 2009 (this puts in extra cash now to help fund projects but truth be told I don't know what it means for next year, trouble?).   This will also help collect tax revenues for 2009 that normally would be collected in 2010 and my guess is that with all the bankruptcies there will be lots of outstanding monies owed the IRS because people will be too broke to pay and will not have access to credit to pay.