In the run up to the 2008 US presidential election, both major contenders, John McCain and Barack Obama, promised that if they were elected they would push for significant new discretionary fiscal policy in 2009. Obama's proposals as a candidate was for legislation which would be roughly 2/3 new government spending and 1/3 tax cuts or stimulus checks (This is roughly the distribution of the 2009 economic stimulus that Obama signed into law in 2009 shortly after he took office). McCain's proposal was for roughly 3/4 tax cuts or stimulus checks and 1/4 new government spending.
In your initial discussion post, do you think discretionary fiscal policy would be more effective if it’s primarily tax cuts/payments to households, increases in government spending, or a equal balance of both? If you were president in 2009 what type of fiscal policy (if any) would you has pushed for?