Bartlett on Stimulus v. Consolidation

Conservative blogger Bruce Bartlett writes in The Fiscal Times that short-term stimulus and long-term deficit reduction is the way to go contrary to the current conventional wisdom (h/t Andrew Sullivan).

I remain skeptical that immediate fiscal consolidation is desirable; I think the case for additional short-term stimulus is much stronger. (The necessity of long-term fiscal adjustment is unquestioned.) But if stimulus is effectively impossible, as I believe it is, we may have no choice but to test the theory that consolidation can be expansionary. I am inclined to think that there is a greater likelihood that we would be repeating the fiscal error of 1937, in which a sharp fiscal contraction brought on a recession, than that we will get the sort of results achieved in small countries starting with high inflation and interest rates. But if we go the consolidation route, we should at least try to concentrate as much of it as possible on the spending side of the budget, which is the one thing that every study says is essential for success.

Liberal blogger Ezra Klein of The Washington Post and Fareed Zakaria of CNN's GPS (the best of the Sunday talk shows) also advocate a second stimulus in the short term followed by long-term deficit reduction after the economy recovers.

UPDATE: Add Andrew Sullivan to the list of those favoring short-term stimulus and long-term deficit reduction.

--Ballard Burgher