If the government wanted to spend more money to save jobs, where would be the best place to put it now?

Let’s look at three choices.

1. Give tax cuts to corporations so they will hire more workers.  It is reported that overall, corporations are sitting on $800 billion dollars of cash equivalents that they don’t know where to invest.  Do you suppose giving them more money in the form of tax cuts would suddenly wake them up to ideas of where to put the extra money to work to create jobs?  Do you suppose lack of tax cuts is preventing them from spending the $800 billion they have already socked away?

2. Invest in more infrastructure projects.  Previously we couldn’t find enough shovel ready infrastructure projects to hit the ground running.  We are still in the process of investing and spending the money already set aside.  This is the money that the Republicans wanted spent on the extension of unemployment benefits because it wasn’t already being used right away.

3. The state governments are about to lay off 50,000 people because of holes in their budgets. Some of these people will be teachers, police, and firefighters.  Do you suppose that if the federal government filled that hole, that 50,000 jobs would be saved?  Most states’ constitutions don’t allow them to run a deficit.  There is no such restriction on the federal budget.

Gee, I can’t figure out which option to choose.  Can any economic genius help me make a decision?