Donklephant » Blog Archive » 200+ Economists: Gas Tax Is A Bad Idea

200+ Economists: Gas Tax Is A Bad Idea

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Economy, Gas, Hillary, McCain

And what’s really nice is they actually sang their statement in the round. I wish I had the audio because it was quite lovely.

From Bloomberg:

May 5 (Bloomberg) — More than 200 economists, including four Nobel prize winners, signed a petition rejecting proposals by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain to offer a gas-tax holiday.

Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz, former Congressional Budget Office Director Alice Rivlin and 2007 Nobel winner Roger Myerson are among those who signed the letter calling proposals to temporarily lift the tax a bad idea. Another is Richard Schmalensee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was member of President George H.W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.

“Suspending the federal tax on gasoline this summer is a bad idea, and we oppose it,” the petition says. Economist Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution is among those circulating the letter and said most signers are economists. Aaron said that while he supports Obama, the list includes Republicans and Clinton supporters.

No word yet if there will be any economists who will actually say they’re publicly in favor of this idea. Don’t hold your breath.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Barack, Economy, Gas, Hillary, McCain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “200+ Economists: Gas Tax Is A Bad Idea”

Donklephant » Blog Archive » Clinton Attacks Obama on Gas Tax Says:
May 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
[...] Looks like Hillary Clinton is trying to ride her support of a gas tax holiday to victory. She has now released an ad attacking Barack Obama for opposing the plan. I guess when you’re behind, pandering is the best option. But this doesn’t do much to bolster her claim that her experience is what matters. I guess her experience doesn’t include the wisdom to listen to the 200 economists who say her plan is a bad idea. [...]
Kevin Burton Says:
May 5th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Give me a break. They’re all elitists ! :-P

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