neil soss says the best thing the government can do to help the economy is nothing. >> my father in law was a country doctor, and i think one of his favorite prescriptions was "leave it alone three times a day." and i think there's an element of wisdom in that with respect to policy now. >> reporter: but even he concedes it will be difficult for congress to sit patiently on the sidelines. so, if lawmakers insist on more stimulus, soss would pick a federal job creation program. >> what we really ought to be doing, in my view at least, if we are going to have stimulus at all, is dedicate it explicitly to the kind of infrastructure that the economy is going to need to be safe and productive. >> reporter: the problem with that plan, according to zandi, is it takes time to implement and would not be much use in jumpstarting the economy. so what happens if the government does nothing, and simply waits on the sidelines? both soss and zandi believe the us will probably skirt recession, it's just a question of whether it's a risk worth taking. erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. s