A Wall Street Journal editorial today prescribes a stimulus policy that flatly contradicts the advice of economists as ideologically diverse as Larry Summers and Martin Feldstein. Messrs. Summers and Feldstein are both acclaimed tenured professors in the Harvard University Economics department. Their views on economic policy are as different as Maynard Keynes' and Adam Smith's. But when it comes to stimulus package recommendations, they sound like peas in a pod compared to the knee-jerk hacks that sit on the WSJ editorial board. Summers, Jan. 6, 2008:

Republican Congressional leadership has responded to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) statement that Democrats plan to move a fiscal stimulus package with furious objection to their own imagination. CongressDaily($) quoted House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday as saying "[Middle-class] anxieties [of the economy] will only be made worse by the higher taxes, irresponsible spending, and bigger government proposed by this Democratic Congress" while Ranking Budget Committee member Paul Ryan (R-WI) shuddered at the notion that "Democrats are banking on enormous tax increases."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced yesterday that Democrats are moving forward with an economic stimulus package. Although she remains vague about such a proposal, Pelosi indicated that it would be targeted to low- and middle-income individuals. A press release at her website says that the package will "assist hard-hit families by promoting consumer confidence, economic growth, and job creation" and will be designed to provide "economic security for those with the greatest economic hardships..."

The rhetoric coming out of the White House the past couple of days regarding a possible economic stimulus package is truly baffling. Speaking to Union League Club of Chicago yesterday, referring to "mixed" economic indicators, Bush said: [M]ost importantly the smartest thing we can do is to keep taxes low....I've worked with Congress to cut taxes, and pro-growth economic policies work. I don't get it. It's important to keep taxes low to keep the economy moving so that when the economy slows down we can continue to keep taxes low to keep the economy moving?