Early Data Shows Strong Black Friday

[Feanor]

Given that the construction sector has been hit the hardest, infrastructure is one of the most sensible ways of generating economic activity and getting people back to work. In contrast, stimulus checks have always been an asinine idea because most of that money goes towards paying off personal debt (laudable pursuit, but one that does not stimulate the economy) or purchasing imported goods (nice for workers in China, but not here at home).
...

If you're looking for a silver lining, the end of any recessionary cycle is usually accompanied by an upsurge in consumer spending. All in all though, retail growth is primarily a function of population and income growth. Shifts in consumer spending habits not driven by population and income usually take time.

A tax reduction? A tax credit in the mail? The poor will either buy imported goods or pay down debts -- and the rich invest abroad.

A stimulus based on consumer spending could be a big problem in that the underlying problem is the the consumers have been spending away beyond their means in recent decades. It's not simplistic to say this is why the current finacial crisis is called a credit crisis. If anyone's going to borrow now, it's got to be the government and they have got to spend it on direct job creation, e.g. infrastucture, which would be to make a problem into an opportunity.

In general, the US needs an interval of a few years during which demand is realigned from junky consumer crap, (say Blu-Ray players), to things that will boost the nation's mid- and long-term compeditiveness and help the environment. And consider this: tax increases aren't necessarily anti-stimulus in this realignment because we aren't relying on consumer demand or private business investment for the stimulus. The money is just as "spent", and perhaps much better spent, on infrastructure as on buying Blu-Rays or building shopping centers.