What makes it laughable is that we are currently facing enormous unemployment, and our economy is in gigantic trouble. State and local governments are going bankrupt right and left, our federal debt is proportionally bigger than it has been in half a century, the only thing keeping our banking system afloat is massive government bailouts and the implied promise to do more of them if things get worse, we're running gigantic trade and current accounts deficits, consumers are saddled with unprecedented amounts of debt, and commercial real estate could collapse at the drop of a hat. &c. &c.
Cutting business taxes might be a reasonable idea, especially if we can target it specifically at increasing employment – we should be doing everything we can to save/create jobs – but it’s not going to get us out of this mess by itself, by a long shot. Also, we should accept that we’re going to have to pay for such measures down the road, and if they pay for themselves it is only going to be over a longer time period. Stimulus is an investment in the future benefit of full production.
"Stimulus is an investment in the future benefit of full production."
It's sort of pointless to try to create jobs for the sake of creating jobs - especially if they all go away once stimulus stops - in which case it's just another entitlement program. It would seem to be a massive leap to assume that implementing half measures to sustain marginal businesses will "pay for themselves".
Governments at both the state level and federal level overspent relative to the size of the economy during the good years. What would be laughable is to tax further or create greater burdens on business to pay for the mistakes of governance. The massive increases in debt also do not come without risk.
Stimulus and cash for clunkers may well increase interest costs for everyone (interest charges to businesses are additive to that charged to the US government). If true, this will almost certainly mean less profitability and less jobs in the future. If anything, the history of central planning shows that governments cannot sustainably create jobs, they can only provide the environment for businesses and individuals who flourish to create jobs.
Cutting business taxes might be a reasonable idea, especially if we can target it specifically at increasing employment – we should be doing everything we can to save/create jobs – but it’s not going to get us out of this mess by itself, by a long shot. Also, we should accept that we’re going to have to pay for such measures down the road, and if they pay for themselves it is only going to be over a longer time period. Stimulus is an investment in the future benefit of full production.