The stimulus proposal being bandied about in Congress is a done deal. The question now is whether or not it solves our economic malaise.

Listening to the President last night, I was struck by several things but the most salient was the notion that ideology has no place in the current debate. We need to understand that at the core of fundamental two party politics, ideology takes center stage.

The Democrats believe that government is the solution and the Republicans believe that government is the problem.

It doesn’t get any more ideological than that. Who’s right? Well, let’s do our best to try and set politics aside and just deal with the economics of the issue…pragmatically. The President said last night that the option to “do nothing” was not an option. Central to this statement is that government must “do something.” Central to my argument would be the fallacy of his argument. The issue is not whether Congress should do anything, but rather whether or not tax cuts make more sense than government spending. Tagging along to that debate is the notion that perhaps the best solution is to do a bit of both. When you dissect the stimulus package, you can readily see that there is far more spending than there are tax cuts.

Will that work?

Herein lies the proverbial rub (or in the case of congress rub down)…Nobody knows.

In case you have not been exposed to the Fontana Mantra…get used to this solid gold nugget of information, because it will serve you well to remember:

In the short run, nobody knows anything for certain.

Not Jim Cramer, not Rush Limbaugh, not the minority leadership in Congress and certainly not President Obama.

I glean little satisfaction from the President’s admission that he doesn’t truly know that the plan will work while steadfastly reiterating that we still have to do something. In the litany of economic events that ebb and flow, all the while setting the economic course for America (in spite of our best efforts to change them), nothing galls me more than the notion that somehow we have never been through anything like this.

We have many times, and some of it has been far worse than what we currently face. The idea that without government intervention, the American people will simply spiral into an economic abyss insults the integrity of American innovation and capitalism as we know it. In other words, we have lost faith in what we do when faced with crises whether economic or otherwise.

At the heart of the free marketplace rests decision making authority and where best to place that responsibility. There is also, it seems to me, a callous disregard of the future. Let’s go down the road a bit post stimulus and try to see the economic future. The stimulus package is spending a trillion dollars (and perhaps more) that we don’t have. Because the new spending trumps the tax cuts, the anticipated four million new jobs that the President says will be created remains suspect. Will the new jobs create a trillion dollars in new tax dollars in order to make up the deficit and, if not, what then? Our debt is already 70% of GDP. That is a staggering number. Without swollen federal tax coffers, we are going to have to do one of three things: monetize the debt (print new money with less value) or rely on foreigners or raise taxes? Neither option is pretty.

So, President Obama is asking the minority in Congress (and their constituency) to back him as he saddles up to the poker table and attempts to slow-play the economy. The problem with this is two fold. First, you never slow-play unless you know you will win. Second, much like Vegas, as it pertains to a free market economy, the house always wins.

My friends; the answer is a tax cut and a big one at that. So when I hear the stimulus package being bandied about as “bold” representing shock and awe to the system, my reaction is awe, shucks. I would rather place my bet on all of us.

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