Is an imperfect stimulus bill better than no bill at all?

By Cernig

Every politician and pundit under the sun is currently riding their own personal hobby-horse. And the usual Republican suspects have been mounting a very effective media campaign based more on political opportunism than their backing for policies that visibly failed over eight years of trying - after all, we're where we are now, not some happier deregulated, tax-cutting utopia.

Meanwhile:

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a 26-year high last week, according to government data on Thursday that pointed to a rapid deterioration in the economy.

* The number of people staying on the benefit rolls hit a record high in the week ended January 24, showing the weak labor market has yet to hit bottom. * The department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose 35,000 to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 in the week ended January 31, the highest since the week ending October 30, 1982. * The prior week's number was revised up to 591,000 from 588,000. * Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 585,000 new claims. * The number of people staying on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of aid surged by 20,000 to a record 4.788 million in the week ended January 24, the latest week for which the data is available, from 4.768 million the previous week. * The four-week moving average for new claims, considered to be a better gauge of underlying trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, rose to 582,250, the highest reading since the week ending December 4, 1982.

Just get it done.