those "300 economists" that McCain KEEPS talking about..Huffpost emails them, finds MORE dissent

[ErinBerin84]

Huffington Post does some more investigating about that list of "300 economists" that John McCain keeps talking about, but Politico mentioned were not neccesarily McCain supporters. This is my favorite response-

(though I support the Bush tax cuts) "I think a gas tax holiday is a band-aid on an amputated limb. I am in full support of balancing the budget by reducing government expenditures on wasteful programs. My signing the letter is not an endorsement of McCain. We could have done much better (i.e., a true conservative)."



McCain's List Of 300 Economists Filled With Skeptics




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/11/mccains-list-of-300-econo_n_112147.html

Three times in the past two days, Sen. John McCain has proclaimed that 300 economists have enthusiastically endorsed his "Jobs for America" economic plan. The number, line, and message are highly misleading.

On Wednesday, Politico reported that a handful of those 300 had expressed reservations with McCain's "policy prescriptions." One wasn't even supporting the Arizona Republican for president.

Nevertheless, McCain again touted the support of the economists during a townhall event last night. So the Huffington Post decided to dig in a bit further, sending emails to roughly 150 members of the list. The response, from roughly a fifth of that group, was telling. Many of the economists whom McCain sited were generally supportive of his economic goals. But their support was tempered by strong objections towards specific proposals as well as deeper skepticism to the non-economic components of McCain's candidacy. Many felt compelled to clarify that their show of support for the Arizona Republican's economic proposals shouldn't be misinterpreted as an endorsement of his presidential campaign.


Yes, I support the Jobs for America policy proposal, especially a simplified tax code, lower restrictions on trade, and energy development," said Michael Connolly, Professor of Economics, University of Miami. " I am worried that continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will tear apart our social fabric and defeat any economic proposal to reduce the deficit and stimulate growth. Guns are crowding out butter."

snip


Among individual policies, McCain's idea of a gas tax holiday was the one most scoffed at with nary an economist offering a defense.

"It would do nothing but increase the quantity demanded - and it wouldn't increase supply," wrote Dave Garthoff of the University of Akron. "So price would just go back up again until demand and supply approached equilibrium, and everyone would blame the oil companies."

Others, meanwhile, said they were not supportive of McCain's pledge to balance the budget by 2013. "No, I think some flexibility to run deficits and surpluses, although I agree that the deficit is too large," said Glenn MacDonald, Distinguished Professor of Economics and Strategy at Washington University in St. Louis.

snip

[eleny]

1. K&R