Krugman may be a liberal, but he is still a Nobel winning professor of economics with an impressive resume in the field.
I think you are talking about the list put out by The Cato Institute. There was a discussion on Center about that.
As to the divide:
Economists such as Martin Feldstein, Daron Acemoglu, National Economic Council director Larry Summers, and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences winners Joseph Stiglitz[32] and Paul Krugman[33] favor large economic stimulus to counter the economic downturn. Some economists, such as Stiglitz and Krugman, favor a much larger measure. While in favor of a stimulus package, Feldstein expressed concern over the act as written, saying it needs revision to address consumer spending and unemployment more directly.[34] Other economists, including John Lott,[35] Robert Barro and Nobel Prize-winners Robert Lucas, Jr.,[36] Vernon L. Smith, Edward C. Prescott and James M. Buchanan have been more critical of the government spending, saying that the package will increase unemployment and place more debt on future generations.[37]
On January 28, 2009, a full page advertisement with the names of approximately 200 economists who are against President Obama's plan appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The funding for this advertisement came from the Cato Institute. The ad stated, "... we the undersigned do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s... To improve the economy, policymakers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, savings, investment, and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth."[38][39]
On February 8, 2009, it was reported that a different petition, also signed by approximately 200 economists, but this one being in favor of President Obama's plan, had been created. This petition was written by the Center for American Progress Action Fund. The petition said that President Obama's plan "proposes important investments that can start to overcome the nation's damaging loss of jobs," and that it would "put the United States back onto a sustainable long-term-growth path."[40]
(Letter can be found here )
americanprogressaction.org |
