The pre fall 08 macronautic guide book

1.  "Discretionary fiscal policy is dominated by monetary policy
    as a stabilization tool because of 
   lags in the application 
   , impact, 
   and removal of discretionary fiscal stimulus."
   
   
   
2. "Even if policymakers get the timing right, 
   discretionary fiscal stimulus would be 
   somewhere between completely ineffective (the Ricardian view) 
   or 
   somewhat ineffective with bad side effects 
   (higher interest rates and crowding-out of private investment)."
   
   
   
   
3. "Moreover, 
   
   fiscal stabilization needs to be undertaken with trepidation, if at all, 
   because the biggest fiscal policy priority should be 
   the long-run fiscal balance."
   
   
   
4. " Policymakers foolish enough to ignore (1) through (3) should at least make sure that any fiscal stimulus is very short-run, including pulling demand forward, to support the economy before monetary policy stimulus fully kicks in while minimizing harmful side effects and long-run fiscal harm. "