No comparable outpouring of support for the package seems to have been forthcoming from economists. Where are the economists, Mr. President? Why have they not rallied behind your program, or rather that of Speaker Pelosi? In reality, you voted "present" once again in formulating the major economic legislation for your administration. You let the Speaker and her people prepare the package rather than submit your own program.
Why aren't well respected economists putting their reputations on the line to respond to Jim Cramer, Larry Kudlow, Rick Santelli and, most of all, the Cato Institute ad? Their silence speaks volumes, Mr. President. You and your Democratic cohorts are putting the nation at risk to pander to your constituencies in the face of strong opposition from professional economists.
Here is what several hundred economists willingly put their reputations on the line to sign:
Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we
all support a big increase in the burden of government, we 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. More government spending did
not solve Japan's "lost decade" in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope
over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S.
today. To improve the economy, policy makers should focus on reforms that remove
impediments to work, saving, 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.
