Goose economy, Bernanke and Bush say

Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke and a president George W. Bush endorsed a fiscal stimulus to lift to a sputtering economy. "The President does believe that over the short term that to deal with this softening in the economy that some boost is necessary," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. In testimony delivered to the House Committee on the Budget, Mr. Bernanke today said that the idea of an economic stimulus package "could be helpful in principle," and combining it with a monetary stimulus may provide broader support the economy than monetary actions alone. He said that the design and implementation of such as program is "critically important," but cautioned that a stimulus package provided at the wrong time or compromised fiscal disciple in the longer term could prove "counterproductive." Mr. Bernanke also suggested that a fiscal stimulus package should be "implemented quickly" and structured so that its effects on aggregate spending are felt as "much as possible" within the next year. However, Mr. Bernanke cautioned that a stimulus that comes too late could be "actively destabilizing" if it comes at a time when growth is already improving. He also insisted that any stimulus should be "explicitly temporary," in order to avoid unwanted stimulus beyond the near-term horizon and avoid an increase in the federal government's structural budget deficit.