McCain’s Economist: Dem Policies Averted Great Depression, Saved 8.5 Million Jobs
A report out today by Mark Zandi, an economic advisor to John McCain and Chief Economist at Moodys.com, and Mark Blinder, an economics professor at Princeton and former Vice Chair of the Fed, found that “the U.S. economy has made enormous progress since the dark days of early 2009.”
Read excerpts from the report:
We find that its effects on real GDP, jobs, and inflation are huge, and probably averted what could have been called Great Depression 2.0. For example, we estimate that, without the government’s response, GDP in 2010 would be about 6½% lower, payroll employment would be less by some 8½ million jobs, and the nation would now be experiencing deflation.
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The stimulus has done what it was supposed to do: end the Great Recession and spur recovery. We do not believe it a coincidence that the turnaround from recession to recovery occurred last summer, just as the ARRA was providing its maximum economic benefit.
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Increased unemployment insurance benefits and other transfer payments and tax cuts put cash into households’ pockets that they have largely spent, supporting output and employment. Without help from the federal government, state and local governments would have slashed payrolls and programs and raised taxes at just the wrong time…Infrastructure spending is now kicking into high gear and will be a significant source of jobs through at least this time next year. And business tax cuts have contributed to increased investment and hiring.
