In the midst of a troubled labor market and national economic uncertainty, economists at Harvard have expressed mixed opinions about President Obama’s jobs proposal, which would offer a package of tax cuts and spending projects totaling $447 billion.
In a nationally-televised speech to Congress last Thursday night, Obama called upon lawmakers from both parties to “stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.”
Yet even among Harvard professors, there seems to be no clear consensus on whether the jobs bill is what the nation needs to revitalize an economy that saw no net job growth in the month of August.
[…] In another New York Times editorial, published after Obama’s speech, Economics Professor Robert J. Barro called for austerity and long-term solutions, rather than short-term stimulus.
Barro criticized Obama’s plan to reduce payroll taxes, and said that such measures have transient effects and do not result in significant hiring increases, a view shared by Miron.
“I don’t think the cost of hiring more labor has been the main negative facing employers. They’re more concerned that they don’t expect to sell a lot,” Miron said.
Read the full story at the Harvard Crimson.
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