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Obama's people told us unemployment wouldn't reach 8.0%
I just wanted to point out how wrong Christina Romer (now chair of the Council of Economic Advisors) was in early January when she was selling the stimulus package. It would result in a jobless rate that would not hit 8.0% at all. Maybe we should have spent more money on a larger stimulus Look:
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-Bush economists said in 2001 the $1.7 trillion income tax cuts primarily for the wealthy would balance the budget.
-That Iraq had WMD and we had to go to war.
-That the war would mostly pay for itself.
-Bush stood in front of a 'Mission Accomplished' banner for political photo-op in May 2003 and then sent 4,000 more Americans to their deaths.
-Republican nominee John McCain said our economy was fundamentally strong in the summer of 2008 as it was crashing after 8 years of Republican policies of tax cuts for the rich, a total lack of oversight of Wall Street types gaming the system, while following the Republican mantra of "the free market will regulate itself".
November 7, 2009 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yup, everyone should agree that Bush economists are the worst of the worst.
Now your opinion about the estimate regarding the stimulus, please.
November 7, 2009 5:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
I never hold people responsible for ESTIMATES.
If I did, the final polls would have resulted in Hoffman winning NY-23 by about 10 points.
November 7, 2009 6:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's not exaggerate now. Only PPP had Hoffman up by 10+ or more at the end.
November 7, 2009 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Spend more money on a larger stimulus?
How about we not have a second stimulus since the first one didn't work very well?
November 7, 2009 6:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
You mean since it hasn't all been spent.
November 7, 2009 10:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree it hasn't all been spent. But the amount that has been spent so far hasn't done very much. It certainly hasn't arrested the rise in unemployment like Ms. Romer predicted it would.
November 8, 2009 7:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
Economics is NOT a perfect SCIENCE.
November 8, 2009 12:02 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're right. But some things that are not a perfect science, like predicting the weather, don't cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
November 8, 2009 7:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Given rates of success and failure of predictions, economics is more akin to flipping a coin. As for calling economics a science you might consult some real scientists and see what they think. And lastly, consider the likely motivations of a scientist and an economist, noting in particular the generic difference in name.
November 8, 2009 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink