For the title to be accurate it should be "Two Economists Agree: Stimulus created nearly 3 million jobs" specifically Mark Zandi, and Alan Blinder.
"Economist agree" makes its seem likes its a general consensus of economists, but the reality is that the agreement is a specific study by those two economists.
Another economist that the writer of the article quoted said - "I can't find in my analysis that the 2009 stimulus package had much effect at all."
If you want to see an actual survey of economists -
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Should the Bush tax cuts be extended?
This seems to be the economic policy question of the hour. It might be worth recalling that last month, the Wall Street Journal polled economists about this question. Of those who expressed an opinion, here are the results:
* 6 percent said no, all the tax cuts should be allowed to expire,
* 24 percent said yes, but only for those making less than $250,000 a year,
* 70 percent said that all the tax cuts should be extended.
gregmankiw.blogspot.com
...Despite the continued challenging conditions, 30 out of 48 economists who answered the question said the economy didn't need any more fiscal or monetary stimulus. Six economists said more fiscal stimulus was necessary, while five want more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and seven said that the economy could use both.
The survey was conducted before the central bank's announcement Tuesday that it would reinvest proceeds from its mortgage-backed securities and agency debt portfolio into Treasurys, essentially boosting monetary stimulus.
"The economy needs government to get out of the way," said Stephen Stanley of Pierpont Securities.
The economists, though, generally didn't support the idea of ending Bush-era tax cuts, which will expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts. Just three respondents said that the tax cuts on individual income should be allowed to expire for everyone. Thirty-two economists said they should all be extended, while 11 said they should be extended for people making less than $250,000 a year—the policy option backed by the Obama administration...
online.wsj.com |
