Big, fast, and in control

IN A critical economic speech Thursday, President-elect Barack Obama warned of "a bad situation" that "could become dramatically worse." Most Americans know this in their bones. But even before Obama unveils the details of his stimulus package, which could cost $775 billion over two years, opposition is bubbling up in Congress to various aspects of the plan.

The president-elect has the guiding principles right. The economy needs a big jolt, and Obama, over the objections of fiscal conservatives, wants a stimulus package big enough to provide one. To avoid a divisive party-line vote, Obama wants to attract Republicans, and is willing to consider business tax breaks that his fellow Democrats - and this page - regard with skepticism.

Most significant, Obama plainly understands that the government shouldn't just go on a spending spree; rather, if Congress agrees to a raft of recession-time borrowing, the nation needs to get long-lasting benefits in return. Future generations will benefit from efforts to computerize healthcare records, modernize the electrical grid, promote energy efficiency, develop fossil-fuel alternatives, and repair decaying roads and public buildings. Such investments would create jobs now and should be the centerpiece of any stimulus plan.

To be sure, some of the proposals likely to end up in the stimulus package represent simple disaster avoidance. Extending benefits for the jobless will help families stay afloat. More aid to states will keep healthcare, public education, and other vital services from being decimated as state and local tax collections plunge.

Ironically, one of the weaker parts of Obama's plan is the middle-class tax cut that he promised in his campaign. While $500 tax credits to individual taxpayers are fairer than Bush-era giveaways to the wealthiest, last year's tax rebate had only a limited effect on the economy.

Even so, Obama is right to call on Congress to take swift action on a stimulus package. Republican leaders have made noises about slowing such a proposal down. Yet special interests have been furiously repackaging their own long-sought perks as a stimulus for tough economic times. The longer a package knocks around Congress, the more likely it is to be larded down with extraneous provisions, pork-barrel spending, or worse.