March 26, 2003 -
Why Can't Reporters Do a Better Job?
- Brad DeLong, The Economist
seems to be slipping lately in the
quality of its economic reporting. One
reads paragraphs like:
Taxing Times: "...Economists are divided
about the wisdom of slashing taxes in
this way, without trying to balance the
books. Last month, around 450
economists, including ten Nobel
laureates, openly criticised the tax-cut
plan: in response, the White House
quickly marshalled support from
economists who took a different view. Mr
Bush has been arguing that his tax cut
will itself have a beneficial impact on
economic growth, and that as a result
the deficits projected under current
methods will turn out to be overly
pessimistic..."
And one wants to scream. What
"...economists who took a different
view..."? Alan Greenspan--number one
Republican economist--who says that now
is definitely not the time to cut taxes?
Douglas Holtz-Eakin--until two months
ago Chief Economist at Bush's Council of
Economic Advisers--who, now that he
heads the Congressional Budget Office
and is out from under Karl Rove's
message discipline, politely says that
it is "not obvious" why anyone would
think the tax cut would have a
beneficial effect on growth? Bush's own
ex-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who
says that shoring up Social Security
would be much better than...
