The Bush regime, blinded by corruption and rightist ideology, is pushing a stimulus plan with two main components. The first is a one time tax rebate of $300-$600 for all taxpayers. That is largely a smokescreen for the main point of the plan, another tax cut for the rich, in this case, tax cuts for business.

This makes little sense from an economic prospective. Bush's past tax cuts, focused primarily on the wealthy, have been followed with in the weakest economic recovery in US history. Their main impact on the economy, increasing the disparity between the rich on the one hand, and the middle class and the poor on the other, is largely responsible for our current economic crisis.

Lower real incomes for most Americans have resulted in an increasing reliance on debt. That debt reliance has become an acute problem now that the housing bubble has burst and people no longer can rely on home equity to buy more crap. Declining incomes have made people reliant on Wal-Mart and other retailers who export jobs out of the US.

Lost jobs and lowered income are not going to be addressed by a modest check from the government. People worried about losing their jobs will be too afraid to spend it on anything but servicing their debts. The only solution to the nation's economic insecurity is to provide more jobs.

In sound economic practice, deficit spending, as would take place in a stimulus plan, would be used for long-term investments in our economic future. Here is a two part plan which would provide real economic stimulus and help our economy grow later on.

1) There should be a bridge-reinforcing plan with immediate funding. This would provide for decent-paying jobs and save the public sector money in the long term.

2) There should be a subway/mass transit building/expansion program with immediate funding. This again would provide good jobs, especially in the hurting construction sector. It also would diminish our dependency on foreign oil and reduce our trade deficits, the latter which are contributing to our country's debt crisis. The reductions in Global Warming will be of future economic benefit as well.

The historical record has shown us that public works programs are the most effective economic stimulus programs. It's time the politicians in Washington learn from history.