At a time when our country needs it most, Congressional Republicans have tossed aside bipartisanship in an attempt to score political points with voters. If the last eight years have proven anything, it’s that tax cuts alone are insufficient and ineffective in stimulating the economy.

The last election should have put to rest the idea that Reaganomics and trickle-down economic policy is prudent. Telling the average American that he or she will get a couple hundred more dollars in tax breaks from Republicans than from Democrats generally plays well.   

Americans would receive a measurable increase in terms of goods and services, however, if they were to forgo the extra money in tax cuts that Republicans are offering — particularly because the tax cuts the Republicans are pushing for are mostly corporate taxes and taxes for higher income workers. 

As Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., points out, “I never saw a tax cut fix a bridge. I never saw a tax cut give us more public transportation.” Our country has enormous infrastructure problems. We have old bridges, crumbling schools, torn up roads and highways, power grids that need upgrading and scores of other public works projects that are vital to addressing societal needs and vital to creating jobs. 

Obama’s stimulus plan offers $550 billion to upgrade infrastructure, modernize health care systems and improve telecommunication and broadband. Separate money is earmarked for state and local governments facing massive deficits to prevent them from having to make the tough choice of either laying off workers or cutting crucial services. Money is also set aside for a large tax credit for the middle class that is intended for lower income workers who don’t pay income taxes but whose income is subject to Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes.   

Nevertheless, true to his word, Obama compromised in a bipartisan way and removed some provisions in the bill that Republicans were uncomfortable with. Gone are provisions in the stimulus bill related to family planning, provisions that would have saved Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars. Inserted in the Obama stimulus bill, despite dissent from his own party, are provisions for substantial tax breaks for businesses in order to appease Republicans. 

Obama’s efforts have not gone entirely unnoticed by Republicans. The bipartisan National Governors Association, including former vice presidential nominee and current governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, was in Washington, D.C. last week to press Congressional Republicans to approve the bill. Republican governors overwhelmingly support the stimulus package because they realize the importance of quick action to jump-start the economy, and they understand that the Congressional Republicans’ plan wouldn’t send nearly as much money to the states for infrastructure repair, education spending and health care efficiency.   

Still, not a single Republican in the House voted for the stimulus. Republican support in the Senate, moreover, is diminishing and hope for a timely passage of a sorely needed stimulus package is fading away.  

Congressional Republicans have hit a new low, demonstrated by their current unwillingness to meet the president somewhere in the middle by compromising on some of their demands in order to get this stimulus bill through Congress and put America back to work. Someone needs to remind the Republicans that there was a reason voters swept them out of power in the last election.

Farhan Bhatti is a State News guest columnist and a second-year medical student. Reach him at bhattifa@msu.edu.