Economists say Congress should think big on the next rescue package

Congress is wrangling over details of a stimulus package, which conventional wisdom in Washington says will land in the trillions, to get us through the fall, but macroeconomists are urging policymakers to think much bigger and much further ahead.

House Democrats have pushed for a giant $3 trillion stimulus. Republicans are pushing for a bill that will deliver $1 trillion or less. In either case, the goal is to build a bridge to Election Day, or Inauguration Day when a new Congress can evaluate the situation in the first quarter...