Ho Hum. The economy is tanking. Let's throw a line to the top hats in the life boats

The Titanic is sinking. You steam up to the disaster ready to help. Do you throw a line to the poor sops treading water for a few more seconds until the freeze or drown? Or do you start to haul up the life boats?

Well, as we skitter into the Iraq Recession (The "Iraq Recession" is here), Bush et al want to guess what? Help the well-off.

The Bush administration proposes to give only partial or no help to the 40 percent of tax filers with modest incomes—less than $40,950 a year. Families of four making less than $24,950 would get nothing. The Congressional Budget Office reported earlier this week that lower-income Americans are likely to spend more of their rebates, infusing money into the economy more quickly than higher-income Americans who are likely to save their rebates. With long-term fiscal responsibility in mind, we must have the biggest bang for the public’s buck for all dollars spent on the stimulus.

The Center for American Progress [CAP] discusses how to make a stimulus package that would actually put money in the hands of people who need it. It includes dealing with the devastating loss of home equity facing many average Americans. It recommends raising unemployment and Medicaid benefits.