It pains me to say this. But Sen. John Cornyn doesn't seem to be too bright. Cornyn was just on MSNBC explaining that spending in a severe economic downturn doesn't make sense and should be replaced by tax cuts since individuals can spend money "more efficiently" than government. I guess he doesn't get that the whole point of a stimulus bill is that in a severe recession individuals -- acting on rationale individual economic motives -- aren't spending. And only government, as a policy decision, can spend at a high rate notwithstanding the state of the economy.

He also claimed a 3x multiplier for tax cuts, which I don't think anyone believes. But I'm more interested in his point about the relative efficiency of private vs. public sector spending since it seemed to show that he doesn't understand what a recession, let alone a severe recession (which has qualitatively different dynamics), even is.

I know there are contrary theories of how economies work. But not grappling with the high level of risk in the economy that makes businesses and people unwilling to spend ... not sure you can enter the conversation without getting that.