The combination of increased costs and reduced room for innovation would likely have a dampening effect on private investment – which may prolong the recession and, in a worse case scenario, render null and void the government’s efforts to spur real demand in the medium term.

All of the above is merely the Scylla. But we are also facing a deadly Charybdis.

Because the recovery plan is being funded by massive debt, on top of a situation in which the national debt has already expanded greatly over the previous decade, the government itself risks going bankrupt. With national debt projected to exceed $14 Trillion by 2010, government income will barely cover the interest payments under current income projections. Already, China and other large holders of U.S. government obligations are rethinking their investments in U.S. Securities. And President Obama himself announced at the G-20 summit that the U.S. would no longer be the engine of global economic growth.

For now, the government is somewhat protected because interest rates on short and long term government debt obligations are at an all time low. Furthermore, the global depression will probably result in lower population growth, limiting the budget-draining effect of increasing entitlements. However, if the economic recovery plan works as intended, and the economy improves over the next couple of years, then presumably interest rates will rise again. If this happens, the government may not be able to cover the interest payments on its debt, and just like that we’re out of business.

But for the current scheme to work, real GDP growth would have to greatly exceed inflation such that rising incomes and increasing demand does not spur large disproportionate price increases in capital and consumer goods. This means that American workers and industry must find ways to increase their efficiency several fold over the next few years. Thus the stimulus plan’s investment in education seems to make particular sense when viewed as a means of fostering a more competitive work force. It will be interesting to see whether or not these retooled workers, thinkers and entrepreneurs can come online soon enough to stave off the inflationary effects of increasing demand.

Getting through these tough and treacherous times will be difficult but not impossible. The real question is whether the current administration understands the full implications of its policy choices as it navigates through these dangerous straits. And whether, ultimately, it will choose the optimal mix of caution and ambition necessary to save the ship and keep individual fatalities to a minimum.