Ezra Klein eviscerates the Nelson-Collins crew:
Nelson said, "I think it will be below 800 [billion]. For me it's not symbolism, it's an economic matter. At some point it's just too big." That point, apparently, was $800 billion, as estimated by the well-known Nelson output theorem, which is not at all reliant on symbolism or a preference for achievable round numbers. Rather, it's reliant on old-fashioned Nebraska values. [...]
Why is $900 billion a stimulus package they would have to oppose, but $800 billion is a stimulus package they can support? There's been no explanation for the superiority of $800 billion against $600 billion, or even against $1.2 trillion.
Here's an explanation -- admittedly not the one Ezra is seeking, but an explanation nevertheless. They yanked it out of their asses. It's a random number that everyone could agree on because Republican and Blue Dog jobs are more important than your job -- more important, in fact, than 600,000 jobs that were sliced out of the bill.