Transformation versus status quo

In a rare oped, President Obama defended his economic package in today's Washington Post:

This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education. And it's a strategy that will be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability, so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent.

That is exactly the problem, says the Washington Post editorial board, in a highly unusual direct response to the President. The editorial argues for a slimmed down stimulus only bill.

The Post editorial board is wrong. As I have argued before, a stimulus-only bill seeks to take us back to 2005. We need to inject transformation into the process - not shore up the status quo. Unfortunately, the Post has decided to become the defender of the old line.

Everyone, including the Post editorial board, understands that we couldn't simply return to the old way of doing things when it came to the financial crisis. That is why there is reform built into the process. The same is true with the auto loans - the requirement that the companies' show they are doing things differently.

Why is it so hard to apply the same principles to the stimulus package? The economy has shifted. Priority #1 of the economic package should be to grow the economy in a different way - not simply reflate the bubble.