Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said Obama’s plan is “not enough” because it puts too much into tax cuts rather than higher spending.More Democrats are criticizing the plan:
“Clearly more is going to be needed,” Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University in New York who advised Obama during the campaign, told reporters at a conference in Paris today. “With a lot of the money going to tax cuts, they won’t have the effect some would hope.”
Congressional Skeptics
A top congressional Democrat also questioned the potential impact of the tax reductions Obama outlined, which would return $500 to individuals and $1,000 to families through changes in withholding.
“I’m very skeptical that’s going to make much difference,” Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota told reporters in Washington. “For the average family, it’s going to add $20 a week -- I mean how much lift is that going to give?"
Sen John Kerry, D-Mass., said, "I'd rather spend the money on the infrastructure, on direct investment, on energy conversion, on other kinds of things that much more directly, much more rapidly and much more certainly create a real job."
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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he doubted that a modest tax cut would change consumers' spending habits.
"In tough times people don't respond all that well to marginal changes, such as a small amount of money added per paycheck," Wyden said.
