But the political process may generate poorly timed or ineffective responses – focused on transfers rather than purchases, infra-marginal tax rebates, and spending that fails cost-benefit tests – that do little good in the short run and cause substantial harm later. America’s 2008 stimulus barely budged consumption upward, and the 2009 fiscal stimulus cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per job – many times higher than median pay.
但政治过程可能导致不恰当的时机或不合适的反应——专注于转移支付而不是购买、超边际退税（infra-marginal tax rebate）和无法通过成本-收益测试的支出——在短期毫无成效，并在随后造成严重伤害。美国在2008年实施的刺激并没有让消费提高多少，而2009年的财政刺激花好几十万美元才能制造一个就业岗位——比中位工资高出几倍。