Do We Need Another Stimulus?

The Washington Post collects opinions from various "experts" including former Clinton advisor Lanny Davis:

As a liberal Democrat, I favor a new stimulus. Unemployment of 9.5 percent is too high. And things could be getting worse. Try this: Dedicate the stimulus package to a massive national public works project that rebuilds every broken-down bridge, railroad and highway in America, and mandate that the building begin within weeks: One week for every state to submit their lists of bridges and highways that need fixing; the second week, offer the contracts for bid by bridge- and road-building companies; and the third or fourth week, hundreds of billions of dollars in checks get mailed to the states, which will administer and pay for the projects -- with some of the money used to pay for new state jobs to run the rebuilding projects.

But how will we pay for it? I don't want the government to borrow or print any more money. So how about a surtax for everyone -- a little for lower-income, more for middle-income, even more for wealthy people? I admit: Seems to defy economic logic. But so far economic logic hasn't worked.

The whole thing is worth a read. Contributors include: Donna Edwards (D-MD); John Boehner (House Minority Leader); Mark Zandi (Moody's economy.com, oft cited by Dems during the winter stimulus debate because he was an advisor to McCain even though he's actually a Dem); Martin Feldstein (conservative Harvard economist who came out in favor of fiscal stimulus in theory but not the actual winter bill); and Douglas Holtz-Eakin (a conservative economist and former McCain advisor)

(h/t Free exchange)