Reports
146 Economists Send Letter of Support for Economic Recovery Package
01/27/2009
Today, 146 leading economists – including five recipients of the Nobel Prize for Economics – sent a letter to Congress calling for the quick passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
From the letter:
The United States is in a recession that threatens to be deep and protracted. Each month, employers are shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs. To stop the hemorrhaging of jobs and pull the economy back from the edge, policymakers must act quickly and decisively. A critical needed action is significant fiscal stimulus specifically designed to boost employment and economic growth.
To this end, Congress and the new administration have put together an economic recovery plan of unprecedented scope and size. The $825 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is of the scale and breadth necessary to begin tackling the mounting problems faced by our economy. The plan proposes important investments that can start to overcome the nation's damaging loss of jobs by saving or creating millions of jobs and put the United States back onto a sustainable long-term growth path.
We do not have the luxury of a lengthy debate over the best course of action. This legislation may not be enough to solve all the economy's problems, but it is urgently needed and an important step in the right direction.
Tomorrow, the House will vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, working from priorities shared with President Barack Obama.
A staggering 2.6 million American jobs were lost in the last year of the Bush Administration — the culmination of a failed economic approach — one that also doubled our national debt in eight short years. We need a New Direction.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will:
- create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, rebuilding America, making us more globally competitive and energy independent, and transforming our economy for long-term growth.
- give 95 percent of Americans an immediate tax cut.
- invest quickly into the economy
The Recovery Plan has unprecedented accountability measures built in—providing strong oversight, an historic degree of public transparency, and including no earmarks.