David Brooks chimes in on the tug-of-war between proponents of additional economic stimuli and those who advocate deficit reduction.

Given my post on this subject last week, and the ensuing back-and-forth with readers, I found these lines from Mr. Brooks particularly compelling, clarifying … and chastening.

So you have your doubts, but you are practical. You want to do something. Too much debt could lead to national catastrophe. Too much austerity could lead to stagnation.

Well, there’s a few short-term things you can do. First, extend unemployment insurance; that’s a foolish place to begin budget-balancing. Second, you need to mitigate the pain caused by the state governments that are slashing spending. You need a program modeled on Race to the Top. You will provide federal money now to states that pass responsible long-term budget plans that will reduce spending and pension commitments. That would save public-sector jobs and ease contractionary pressures without throwing the country into a fiscal-debt spiral.

He concludes …

But the overall message is: Don’t be arrogant. This year, don’t engage in reckless new borrowing or reckless new cutting.

From where I stand — in the uneducated mire of a non-economist and non-ideologue — that makes a hell of a lot of sense.