We've basically been in one long recession that started in the fall of 2000,

As a stimulus proposal, it's a non-starter. The economic impact is very, very small -- almost imperceptible.

The stock market has given off false signals in terms of anticipating recessions, but it has never given off a false signal about recovery before the recession ended.

The net effect was to induce a tightening mode in the markets, in bank lending and in total bank reserve growth, while [interest rates] rose significantly, especially for corporate bond issues. In retrospect, that's not looking very smart.

The risk to the economy is that we lose the consumer -- and I think we are losing the consumer.

The economy's not doing well, so it's appropriate to do what you can. But the notion that deficit spending is a panacea is greatly over-advertised.