To address the current economic crisis, we propose a Main Street Recovery Program, a substantial, strategic and sustained plan for economic renewal. It calls for a $900 billion investment over the next two years to boost the real economy and lay the foundation for long-term restructuring.

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What We Must Have

An economic stimulus must be substantial in order to succeed. Economists are coming to agreement that small measures won't budge America's $15 trillion economy. China recently announced a $586 billion stimulus program, planning to invest 7 percent of that country's gross domestic product a year for two years. To lift this economy, an American plan needs to invest at least 3 percent of gross domestic product, or $450 billion, a year for two years.

Public investments must be strategic to be effective. Both tax cuts and bailouts for the rich are ineffective means for stimulating our economy. We need to avert mass layoffs, create new jobs, and build infrastructure that will increase America's productivity. The most effective plan would:

1. reduce dependence on foreign oil and address global warming,
2. repair our crumbling bridges, roads, and levees,
3. provide aid to states so they can avoid layoffs and continue to provide needed services,
4. increase aid to education,
5. expand research and development,
6. tackle the health care crisis, and
7. provide aid to those most in need.

Our recovery program must be sustained to build a strong economy. Lifting us out of recession is vital, but not sufficient. America needs a long-term effort to build an economy, not based on asset bubbles and rampant speculation, but on sustained, balanced growth.