The World Bank released a report on Friday that projected the global economy will contract for the first time since WWII. This has led Lawrence Summers, the head of the National Economic Council, to call for a global stimulus effort that seeks to boosts demand throughout the world. The world will be watching the G-20 summit in April for the hope of seeing strong global action along the lines advocated by Summers and Prime Minister Gordon Brown. However, despite the need for countries to take strong action, Congressional conservatives are stuck in a mindset reminiscent of the Hoover-era. Calls for “spending freezes” and to stimulate the economy exclusively through tax cuts, are reflective of a movement that has run out of ideas and has no practical solutions to solve the economic crisis their very own policies created.
