Krugman: Second Stimulus Needed

With even members of the Obama administration (OK, Joe Biden, to be fair) admitting that the White House underestimated how bad the recession was, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is calling for a second stimulus bill. He begins his latest piece with an "I told you so" moment, writing that the latest numbers confirm his earlier call, during the stimulus debate, for a larger package. According to Krugman, another stimulus bill would be politically treacherous given growing Congressional opposition to new spending, but with monetary policy tapped out, Obama needs to argue that only fiscal policy can jump-start the economy. "What Mr. Obama needs to do is level with the American people," Krugman writes. "He needs to admit that he may not have done enough on the first try."