The Bush Administration and Congress are pulling back and forth over an economic stimulus package — this way to help the unemployed, that way to help business. As the tug of war continues, consumers may be fashioning their own short-term strategy during the Christmas season: spend, spend, spend.

The government needs to act, nonetheless. A boost at the cash registers in December might not be much help in January, February and March. The best, most lasting stimulus would be a balanced one, one that helps both the unemployed and their strapped former employers.

The change in the job market has been swift and stunning. North Carolina’s Employment Security Commission set a new record in October, paying out $98 million in unemployment insurance. The jobless include workers laid off in a wide variety of industries: textiles, truck makers, airlines. An economy that was booming along just 18 months ago has slowed to a crawl.

Who hurts more —workers or the companies that lay them off? The human costs are incurred at the worker level. People go without, cutting back on what they can do for their families and themselves. Officials at the Community Care Clinic here in Salisbury say they have treated people in recent months whom they never expected to see in need of free health care —people with long, steady work records who suddenly find themselves without jobs or health benefits.

So Congress’ first reaction is to extend unemployment benefits to help these struggling people and families stay on their feet. Bush and Democrats agree on that, as well as the issuing of a new batch of tax rebate checks.

But more unemployment benefits will not put these people back to work. That’s why the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress also advocate breaks for business — to put troubled industries back on sound enough footing to rehire workers.

They talk of accelerating depreciation tax write-offs for businesses and repealing the corporate alternative minimum tax —steps Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill says would provide 300,000 new jobs.

How reliable is that figure? Good question. Congress must weigh that estimate against the cost of the corporate tax breaks, also an elusive number at the moment.

This can’t be an all-or-nothing debate between Republicans and Democrats on the Hill. They have already reached some compromise, giving a tentative nod to extended unemployment benefits, more tax rebate checks and the accelerated depreciation tax write-offs for businesses. Now it’s time for real debate —based on real numbers, not partisanship —about the other possible boosts for corporate America.

Let reason and moderation prevail in the ongoing tug of war. The goal can’t be for one side or the other to fall into the mud, a disgraced loser. Instead, both sides need to work together for the benefit of the American workforce and economy. That requires pulling together, not apart.