Okay so in this context it’s What would Jana do, but it works.  The Pioneer asked in my last post what I would do if I could build a stimulus package that would work.  So this is my challenge.  I have been thinking about this and doing some research.  I have looked at many different points of view on both sides.  I think the one thing that will best help our economy is putting money back into the pockets of hard working Americans.  Instead of one lump sum payment, the payroll tax should be cut.  This will put money back into paychecks.  It will help stimulate the economy by getting the public to spend.  A lump sum payment especially now will probably go toward paying down debt or putting it  into a savings account.  I am sure there will be some that will spend it on something new, but not much.  We saw this happen with the last round of Bush tax cuts.  The object was to stimuate the economy by putting money in people’s pockets, that didn’t happen.  Not only will a cut in payroll tax help out the worker, it will help the employer.  It would reduce the cost of labor for employers and make it easier to hire new employees or avoid layoffs.  I would cut all pork projects. However, I would like to see an increase in spending for education.  We have to make sure our kids our getting the best education available.  We owe it to our children to give them as many resources as possible so they will be prepared when they take over.  We lag behind countries such as South Korea in secondary education.  We need more emphasis on the basics –reading, math and science.  Any ideas on how to get our economy moving?  What would you do?