Initial Obama Stimulus

TW: Have been pounding the drum on stimulus, Obama outlined some presumably initial measures in his radio address this weekend. I like them as they represent relatively fast type spending but spending that will provide investment benefits. Importantly the measures could help construction employment without created new facilities which we do not need, merely more efficient facilities which can be useful. The issue Newton raises with Blue Dog Dems or others being wary of fiscal constraint should not be a primary issue. Either Obama will sell Congress and the country on massive fiscal profligacy amidst this major demand contraction (such that the Blue Dogs will be on board as well as numerous Republicans) or we will have a government paralyzed by inaction. I am highly confident Obama will be able to make the sale.

From Newton at Time:
"In his radio address today Obama outlined an ambitious plan to get the economy back on track. The plan has five points:

1. Embark on a large-scale effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient;
2. Make the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since President Eisenhower established the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s – creating millions of jobs and compelling states to act quickly and make smart investments;
3. Create jobs and help our children compete by launching the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen;
4. Renew our information superhighway by boosting broadband deployment in communities across America;
5. Modernize our health care system so that every hospital and doctor's office is using cutting-edge technology and every American has access to electronic medical records.

Some of these items, such as health IT, have been languishing before Congress for years and should be easily passed with the expanded Dem majorities. Others, such as infrastructure investments and school construction, will take some convincing, especially of the fiscally conservative Blue Dogs in the House."