Green Shoots: Rumbles of a Second Stimulus

Pelosi had floated the idea for starters before quickly retreating in the face of heavy opposition. The first bill was a tragedy and Obama's job losses have been devastating for the country. The only green shoots have been talking points for a second stimulus. Today we had Krugman's laughable piece about the need for a second one, and I just came across this gem that was supposed to be about Biden and all the great work he is doing:

Hanging over all these concerns is the prospect that a second stimulus bill may be needed to bail out states in late 2010 or 2011. State budgets have been drowning in red ink as jobless claims and Medicaid bills have skyrocketed; few expect those trends to ease soon. In June, White House counselor David Axelrod left open the possibility that a second stimulus may be needed. The White House is confronted with the prospect of having to ask for more money early next year — even as a group of voters is ready to dump the first stimulus right now.

That helps explain why managing the stimulus story has become a full-time White House preoccupation. On a typical day recently, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner appeared in the Bronx to announce $90 million in inner-city financing; Michelle Obama revealed $851 million in new health-center grants; and the President, in the Grand Foyer, hailed stimulus jobs "building wind turbines and solar panels." Biden announced plans to fly to Pennsylvania, where he will "highlight Recovery Act broadband investments," while other agencies rolled out press releases regarding new dump-truck engines in Montana, North Dakota school grants and diesel tractors in Utah.

My first reaction to Krugman's piece was Journolist or whatever that nonsensical group is called, laying the groundwork. With that said I have little doubt the White House prodded Krugman into writing that piece as the trial balloon of the day. Not that Mr. Housing Bubble needs much encouragement to spend tax payers money and Obama sure as heck doesn't care about the debt. As for this Time magazine article, perhaps it is simply giving us a glimpse into what elites are saying to each other and more importantly how they can foist it on the country. Either way I am sure a second one will be as effective as the first.