Stimulus bill getting respectable reception

Although there are still plenty of hurdles for Barack Obama's stimulus bill, the reception today has been quite reasonable. A Bloomberg article by Ryan J. Donmoyer and Christopher Stern entitled "Democrats Will Revise Obama Stimulus, Baucus Says" tells us that:

Senator Max Baucus of Montana ... signaled a willingness to accept Republican ideas to reach a bipartisan consensus. "My goal is to get people together," he said. Baucus's full committee will meet privately tomorrow and may draft a bill as early as next week.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has said his party would support an immediate middle- class tax cut as part of any stimulus package.

Obama also has proposed tax cuts for businesses, including the ability to convert current losses into cash by getting a refund of taxes paid in the past, accelerated depreciation for companies that purchase equipment, and a tax credit for hiring workers.

...

House Republican Leader John Boehner told reporters today that talks between Republicans and Obama about the specifics of a stimulus measure are off to a "good start." Still, he said members of his party remain wary about the overall size of proposals that Democrats are discussing.

We are certainly not there yet, but Senators and Republicans are making at least some of the right noises.

The good news is that the constant drumbeat of bad economic news (job losses today and a bad report expected on Friday) will help to convince reluctant Republicans that a big number is important, and help to convince a plodding Congress to act more promptly than the middle of February.

Nonetheless, the news on the stimulus bill today was reasonably encouraging.

-- Jack Krupansky