Sadly, the debate around the economic recovery and stimulus package has often been characterized by the politics of the past rather than the politics of the future. Ideology too often trumps sound economics and recent experience. In the fight against poverty, the current recession and economic crisis provides one of those rare moments when targeted efforts to lift up low-income Americans also provide the greatest stimulus to the economy. Lower-income Americans are most likely to spend money into the economy, which will help to kick-start greater demand for goods and services. This economic reality seems to have escaped some members of Congress. I would argue that supporting vulnerable Americans would still be necessary and worthwhile for moral reasons, even if it wasn't likely to stimulate the economy. However, this represents one of those rare moments when the moral coincides with the pragmatic and prudent.
It is easy to get lost in the details of a more than $800 billion spending and tax package. It is also difficult to know who to trust and what to believe in the midst of such a whirlwind of conflicting and often misleading information in the media and political realm. I have come to trust the analysis and perspective of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on matters related to the economy and the budget. The Center shares our concern and conviction that budgets are moral documents and that the health of our economy is best measured by how the weak and the vulnerable are faring. The Center's analysis is also disciplined by sound data and by what will produce results. The Center's Chad Stone provides an excellent summary of the economics behind the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, arguing:
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