Is A Second Stimulus Needed?

Moody's Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi and former Congressional Budget Office Director Rupolph Penner both stated at the Urban Institute Conference recently, that another stimulus was required to stabilize the economy and ward off a double dip recession.

Zandi reports "Get the GDP growing first and forget about the debt. With unemployment at 10% and companies still shedding jobs growing the GDP should be the first priority". Zandi believes that the government needs an additional $200 Billion dollars, mainly for business lending, extensions of government programs such as unemployment, state and local governments and fix the foreclosure housing market.

Penner was a bit more Conservative in his estimates, claiming another $98 Billion was necessary and he believes the money should go to Medicaid, the states and creating jobs.

Either way these two both believe that without another stimulus we are heading for a double dip. The question is "Will Washington be able to sell this to the voters, November is only 9 months away.