BUSH CALLS FOR EXTENSION OF TAX CUTS - BUT ECONOMY NEEDS SHORT-TERM STIMULUS LIKE EXTENSION OF EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

George Bush comes out today and announces that the congress must do more to stimulate the economy, the same economy which Bush has for so long been calling "strong" and in good shape. Jeannine Aversa of the AP writes in today's The Washington Post:

"President Bush, acknowledging that the country is suffering through a period of economic uncertainty, called on Congress Monday to do more to help people and businesses hurt by the housing slump and credit crunch. . . .

"Bush again renewed his campaign for Congress to make his tax cuts permanent. "Unless Congress acts, most of the tax relief that we have delivered over the past seven years will be taken away and 116 million American taxpayers will see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800," the president said."

But Bush's tax cuts expire only in 2010. Bush will long since been gone, when any extension of these tax cuts would be effective. So how will that provide a short-term boost for an ailing and weak economy?

What Bush should call for is an extension of unemployment benefits for those out of work and an increase of food stamps for those in the lower income brackets.