Last evening on Lou Dobbs (I know, I know, but at least the woman replacing him at the moment is a little better, and I forgot to switch to Lehrer after Blitzer was done), they had Michael Steele, the new RNC chairman, who was pushing tax cuts as better stimulus. They talked about the Pentagon spending money on hospitals that were "shovel ready" but not the highest priority, and agreed it didn't make much sense.

Actually it makes great sense: These are needed projects that have gotten quite of a lot of attention already, which is why they are ready to go, so they produce great bang for the buck in job creation. And the GOP tax-cut argument has been thoroughly discredited (so why does CNN allow them to continue to recycle it without challenge?)

It got me to thinking about my favorite parks in Minneapolis, at Minnehaha Falls and along the Mississippi. Much of the work was done by the WPA in the 30s and endures. Imagine, they actually spent money on parks. And my favorite trout stream in northeast Minnesota, not far from our home, still shows considerable evidence of work done by the CCC boys. Creepers, spending public money on improving habitat for brook trout!

Of course, both the CCC and WPA had conservative critics (Roosevelt had a devil of a time getting the WPA, dubbed "We Piddle Along," through the Senate), but the two programs created tons of jobs and had a very positive impact on a lot of lives, not to mention a lot of communities that benefited from beautiful, enduring projects.

I know that compromise is necessary in the legislative process, but I hope we do not let the critics win too much. Tax cuts don't work very well as stimulus. As President Obama said in his speech to the retreating House Democrats: Spending is the name of the game. Good spending, certainly, but we must spend a great deal of money to stop this economic slide. Long live John Maynard Keynes.