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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (455475)	2/10/2009 2:19:25 PM
From: longnshort	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575557

Economists against the Stimulus Posted by David Boaz Cato has just published a full-page ad in the New York Times with the names of some 200 economists, including some Nobel laureates and other highly respected scholars, who “do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance” — contrary to widespread claims that “Economists from across the political spectrum agree” on a massive fiscal stimulus package. Of course, many economists don’t like to sign joint statements, so this is only a fraction of stimulus opponents in the profession. Greg Mankiw pointed to a few noted skeptics last week: In a TV interview last month, Vice President Joe Biden said the following: Every economist, as I’ve said, from conservative to liberal, acknowledges that direct government spending on a direct program now is the best way to infuse economic growth and create jobs. That statement is clearly false. As I have documented on this blog in recent weeks, skeptics about a spending stimulus include quite a few well-known economists, such as (in alphabetical order) Alberto Alesina, Robert Barro, Gary Becker, John Cochrane, Eugene Fama, Robert Lucas, Greg Mankiw, Kevin Murphy, Thomas Sargent, Harald Uhlig, and Luigi Zingales–and I am sure there many others as well. Regardless of whether one agrees with them on the merits of the case, it is hard to dispute that this list is pretty impressive, as judged by the standard objective criteria by which economists evaluate one another. If any university managed to hire all of them, it would immediately have a top ranked economics department. And of course Mankiw’s list isn’t comprehensive. There’s also former Treasury economist Bruce Bartlett, former Yale professor Philip Levy, former Ohio State and Federal Reserve economist Alan Viard, Russell Roberts of George Mason, and many more. Under the current circumstances, plenty of economists are endorsing large fiscal stimulus programs. But it’s just not correct to claim that there’s any consensus or that “every economist . . . from conservative to liberal” supports the kind of massive spending program that the Obama-Biden administration has proposed. UPDATE: Martin Feldstein, whose support last October for a fiscal stimulus is the reed upon which journalists justify their claims about “economists across the political spectrum,” now calls this stimulus bill “an $800 billion mistake.” David Boaz • January 28, 2009 @ 9:42 am cato-at-liberty.org

To: Road Walker who wrote (455475)	2/10/2009 2:31:15 PM
From: michael97123	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575557

i didnt invent decession, heard it on cnbc. To me it puts deflation into the equation which is a precursor to depression. Either way the word separates this from past recessions. The unemployment numbers will stay bad, we have to have some confidence restored going forward that a. the govt is doing something constructive b. This is the USA and we are a can do people. Right now we are rudderless, drifting with no self confidence either as a nation or as individuals. Obama is trying but he came across to me yesterday as the anti-bush, almost too smart, too knowledgeable, not enough passion. Geithner same today. I guess thats ok over time--competence, pragmatism, unflappable all good stuff but i would love it if Obama could speak over the head of the NO Nothings and get public support from the center and center right for stimulus in order to pressure the rushlimbo bots to support the stimulus.