Does Obama’s economic recovery and investment package, no longer called a stimulus package, do enough to right the sinking ship? According to Jeff Madrick the only reason people have done well over the past thirty years is because of a debt based social contract. They could borrow against their homes, their stocks, and of course their credit cards. What we need, he says, is a social contract that ensures higher wages and serious public investment.

The biggest issue it seems is direct spending versus long-term investment. The plan as it stands now has plenty of the former but not much of the latter. Also, will the spending programs be coordinated? And what kind of jobs will be created? And for whom?

To discuss Obama's economic plan and how it might be improved are Jeff Madrick, author of The Case for Big Government and a recent article in the Nation, Beyond Rubinomics; C. Nicole Mason, Executive Director of the Women of Color Policy Network at NYU; and Miles Rapoport, the President of Demos, a non-partisan policy and research organization headquartered in New York City.