Snake-Oil Economics

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Snake-Oil Economics The second voice is that of the nu- Snake-Oil anced advocate. In this case, economists advance a point of view while recognizing Economics the diversity of thought among reasonable people. They use state-of-the-art theory and evidence to try to persuade The Bad Math Behind the undecided and shake the faith of Trump’s Policies those who disagree. They take a stand without pretending to be omniscient. N. Gregory Mankiw They acknowledge that their intellectual opponents have some serious arguments and respond to them calmly and without vitriol. Trumponomics: Inside the America First The third voice is that of the rah-rah Plan to Revive Our Economy partisan. Rah-rah partisans do not build BY STEPHEN MOORE AND their analysis on the foundation of profes- ARTHUR B. LAFFER. All Points sional consensus or serious studies from Books, 2018, 287 pp. peer-reviewed journals. They deny that people who disagree with them may have hen economists write, they some logical points and that there may be can decide among three weaknesses in their own arguments. In W possible voices to convey their view, the world is simple, and the their message. The choice is crucial, opposition is just wrong, wrong, wrong. because it affects how readers receive Rah-rah partisans do not aim to persuade their work. the undecided. They aim to rally the The first voice might be called the faithful. textbook authority. Here, economists Unfortunately, this last voice is the act as ambassadors for their profession. one the economists Stephen Moore and They faithfully present the wide range Arthur Laffer chose in writing their of views professional economists hold, new book, Trumponomics. The book’s acknowledging the pros and cons of over-the-top enthusiasm for U.S. Presi- each. These authors do their best to dent Donald Trump’s sketchy economic hide their personal biases and admit that agenda is not likely to convince anyone there is still plenty that economists do not already sporting a “Make America not know. According to this perspective, Great Again” hat. reasonable people can disagree; it is the author’s job to explain the basis for that ECONOMIC TRIBALISM disagreement and help readers make an Moore and Laffer served as economic informed judgment. advisers to Trump during his campaign and after he was elected president (along N. GREGORY MANKIW is Robert M. Beren with Larry Kudlow, the current director Professor of Economics at Harvard University. of the National Economic Council, who From 2003 to 2005, he was Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under U.S. President wrote the book’s foreword). From this George W. Bush. experience, Moore and Laffer apparently 176 foreign affairs Snake-Oil Economics Seller in chief: Trump promoting his tax cut package in Hialeah, Florida, April 2018 learned the importance of flattering the Economic Advisers during the George W. boss. In the first chapter alone, they tell Bush administration, so do I.) But the us that Trump is a “gifted orator” who Obama administration was filled with is always “dressed immaculately.” He is prominent economic advisers who were “shrewd,” “open-minded,” “no-nonsense,” well within the bounds of mainstream and “bigger than life.” He is a “common- economics: Jason Furman, Austan sense conservative” who welcomes “honest Goolsbee, Alan Krueger, Christina and fair-minded policy debates.” He is Romer, and Lawrence Summers, to name the “Mick Jagger of politics” with a but a few. It is not tenable to suggest contagious “enthusiasm and can-doism.” that with all this talent, the administra- The authors’ approach to policy is tion made only wrong decisions, and similarly bereft of nuance. In Chapter that they were wrong simply because 3, they sum it up by proudly recounting those who made them were Democrats. what Moore told Trump about U.S. The tribalism of Moore and Laffer’s President Barack Obama during the approach stems primarily from their campaign: “Donald, just look at all devotion to a single issue: the level of PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / AP / MONSIVAIS MARTINEZ PABLO the things that Obama has done on the taxation. Obama pursued higher taxes, economy over the past eight years, and especially on higher-income households. then do just the opposite.” His goal was to fund a federal govern- It is hard to imagine more simplistic, ment that was larger and more active than misguided advice. To be sure, Moore many Republicans would prefer and to and Laffer can reasonably hold policy use the tax system to “spread the wealth positions and political values to the right around,” as he famously told Joe Wurzel- of those of Obama. (As someone who bacher, known as Joe the Plumber, a man chaired the White House Council of he encountered at a campaign stop in January/February 2019 177 N. Gregory Mankiw Ohio in 2008. By contrast, Moore and tradeoff between equality and efficiency Laffer want lower taxes, especially on just won’t go away. businesses, which in their view would promote faster economic growth. LESSONS FROM ECON 101 The debate over taxes reflects a Trumponomics is full of exhortations about classic, ongoing disagreement between the importance of economic growth. Why, the left and the right. In 1975, Arthur Moore and Laffer ask, should Americans Okun, a Brookings economist and former settle for the two percent growth that adviser to President Lyndon Johnson, many economists have been projecting? wrote a short book called Equality and Wouldn’t every problem be easier to Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff. Okun argued solve with a more rapidly expanding that by using taxes and transfers of economy? The book quotes Trump as wealth to equalize economic outcomes, claiming, when announcing his tax plan the government distorts incentives—or in December 2017, that it would not that, to put it metaphorically, the harder increase the budget deficit because it the government tries to ensure that the would raise growth rates to “three, or economic pie is cut into slices of a similar four, five, or even six percent.” size, the smaller the pie becomes. Based The authors offer no credible evi- on this argument, the main priority of dence that the tax changes passed will the Democratic Party is to equalize the lead to such high growth. Most studies slices, whereas the main priority of the yield far more modest projections. The Republican Party is to grow the pie. Congressional Budget Office estimates Yet Moore and Laffer aren’t willing that the Trump tax cuts will increase to admit that making policy requires growth rates by 0.2 percentage points confronting such difficult tradeoffs. per year over the first five years. A Laffer is famous for his eponymous study by Robert Barro (a conservative curve, which shows that tax rates can economist at Harvard) and Furman (a reach levels high enough that cutting liberal economist at Harvard) published them would yield enough growth to in 2018 estimates that the tax bill will actually increase tax revenue. In that increase annual growth by 0.13 percent- scenario, the tradeoff between equality age points over a decade. And that is and efficiency vanishes. The government if the changes are made permanent. can cut taxes, increase growth, and use Barro and Furman estimate that as the the greater tax revenue to help the less legislation is written, with many of the fortunate. Everyone is better off. provisions set to expire in 2025, it will The Laffer curve is undeniable as a increase annual growth by a mere 0.04 matter of economic theory. There is percentage points over ten years. certainly some level of taxation at which It is conceivable that standard eco- cutting tax rates would be win-win. nomic models underestimate the impact But few economists believe that tax of tax cuts on growth. A research paper rates in the United States have reached by the economists Christina Romer and such heights in recent years; to the con- David Romer published in 2010 examined trary, they are likely below the revenue- historical tax changes and found that they maximizing level. In practice, the big had larger effects on economic activity 178 foreign affairs than standard models suggest. (It is worth noting that these two authors’ political leanings are left of center, so their findings are not the result of ideological taint.) One might reasonably argue that Trump’s tax cuts will increase growth over the next decade by as much as half a percentage point per year. But that is a long way from the one- to four-percentage-point The Internship boost that the president and his associates Program have bragged of, and that Moore and The Council on Foreign Relations is seek- Laffer quote without explanation, caveat, ing talented individuals who are consider- or apology. ing a career in international relations. The authors of Trumponomics do depart Interns are recruited year-round on a semester from the president on one piece of his basis to work in both the New York City and agenda: his approach to international Washington, D.C., offices. An intern’s duties trade. Moore and Laffer are ardent free generally consist of administrative work, editing and writing, and event coordination. traders; as such, their views are well The Council considers both undergraduate within the mainstream of modern eco- and graduate students with majors in Interna- nomics. Ever since Adam Smith took on tional Relations, Political Science, Economics, the mercantilists in The Wealth of Nations or a related field for its internship program. in 1776, most economists have come to A regional specialization and language skills believe that international trade is win-win. may also be required for some positions.
Recommended publications
  • Economic Analysis by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz
    BEFORE THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 98-1232 (CKK) MICROSOFT CORPORATION, Defendant. STATE OF NEW YORK ex rel. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. 98-1233 (CKK) MICROSOFT CORPORATION, Defendant. DECLARATION OF JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ AND JASON FURMAN TABLE OF CONTENTS I. QUALIFICATIONS ........................................................................................................... 1 II. PURPOSE............................................................................................................................ 2 III. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 2 IV. THE MODERN ECONOMIC THEORY OF COMPETITION AND MONOPOLY .6 A. Acquisition of a monopoly............................................................................................ 7 B. Potential for competition............................................................................................ 10 C. Consequences of monopoly ........................................................................................ 12 D. Monopolies and innovation ........................................................................................ 14 V. FACTS AND LEGAL CONCLUSIONS RELATING TO MICROSOFT.................. 16 A. Monopoly power.......................................................................................................... 16 B. Anticompetitive behavior ..........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of the New Right on the Reagan Administration
    LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON THE IMPACT OF THE NEW RIGHT ON THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION: KIRKPATRICK & UNESCO AS. A TEST CASE BY Isaac Izy Kfir LONDON 1998 UMI Number: U148638 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U148638 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to investigate whether the Reagan administration was influenced by ‘New Right’ ideas. Foreign policy issues were chosen as test cases because the presidency has more power in this area which is why it could promote an aggressive stance toward the United Nations and encourage withdrawal from UNESCO with little impunity. Chapter 1 deals with American society after 1945. It shows how the ground was set for the rise of Reagan and the New Right as America moved from a strong affinity with New Deal liberalism to a new form of conservatism, which the New Right and Reagan epitomised. Chapter 2 analyses the New Right as a coalition of three distinctive groups: anti-liberals, New Christian Right, and neoconservatives.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics Aside, a Common Bond for Two Economists by N
    The New York Times, June 30, 2013 Politics Aside, a Common Bond for Two Economists By N. GREGORY MANKIW ONE of the cool things about hanging around a place like Harvard, where I have been a professor for almost 30 years, is that you get to meet some supertalented people long before the world recognizes their talents. I had a vivid reminder of this just a few days ago, when President Obama appointed Jason Furman as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, a position that I held under George W. Bush. Jason was once a student of mine at Harvard. As the president noted in announcing the appointment, I was chairman of Jason’s Ph.D. dissertation committee. He and I have remained friends ever since. In Washington these days, comity between Republicans and Democrats is rare. Yet my relationship with Jason has never been hampered by our differing political affiliations. During the campaign of 2004, I was part of the Bush administration and he was working for two Democratic candidates, first for Wesley K. Clark in the primary season and then for John Kerry during the general election. Yet the fact that our bosses were steeped in a political battle at the highest level did not stop us from enjoying regular dinners together. For me, and I suspect for Jason as well, friendship trumps politics. Our friendship is based in part on the common bond of all economists. The field of economics offers a lens through which to view the world. For those who buy into it and pursue it as a career, it provides a foundation of a personal and political philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • Senate Section
    E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 159 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013 No. 33 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was ator from the State of Hawaii, to perform get back to regular order, they say, we called to order by the Honorable BRIAN the duties of the Chair. could function again. Yesterday, we SCHATZ, a Senator from the State of PATRICK J. LEAHY, saw both sides of that. Hawaii. President pro tempore. On the one hand, my Republican col- Mr. SCHATZ thereupon assumed the leagues did practice regular order. On PRAYER chair as Acting President pro tempore. the other, they didn’t. Let’s take the The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- f one they didn’t. fered the following prayer: They demanded a 60-vote threshold RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY for confirmation of a very qualified Let us pray. LEADER God, our fortress, we live under Your nominee, Caitlin Halligan, to be United protection. Keep America safe from the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- States Court of Appeals Judge for the forces of evil that come against it. pore. The majority leader is recog- DC Circuit. Republicans once again hid behind a cloture vote—filibuster, by Lead our Senators away from the trap nized. another term—to prevent a simple up- of trusting only in their resources so f or-down vote on this important nomi- that they will never forget that noth- SCHEDULE nation.
    [Show full text]
  • Notes and Sources for Evil Geniuses: the Unmaking of America: a Recent History
    Notes and Sources for Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History Introduction xiv “If infectious greed is the virus” Kurt Andersen, “City of Schemes,” The New York Times, Oct. 6, 2002. xvi “run of pedal-to-the-medal hypercapitalism” Kurt Andersen, “American Roulette,” New York, December 22, 2006. xx “People of the same trade” Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, ed. Andrew Skinner, 1776 (London: Penguin, 1999) Book I, Chapter X. Chapter 1 4 “The discovery of America offered” Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy In America, trans. Arthur Goldhammer (New York: Library of America, 2012), Book One, Introductory Chapter. 4 “A new science of politics” Tocqueville, Democracy In America, Book One, Introductory Chapter. 4 “The inhabitants of the United States” Tocqueville, Democracy In America, Book One, Chapter XVIII. 5 “there was virtually no economic growth” Robert J Gordon. “Is US economic growth over? Faltering innovation confronts the six headwinds.” Policy Insight No. 63. Centre for Economic Policy Research, September, 2012. --Thomas Piketty, “World Growth from the Antiquity (growth rate per period),” Quandl. 6 each citizen’s share of the economy Richard H. Steckel, “A History of the Standard of Living in the United States,” in EH.net (Economic History Association, 2020). --Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson, The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies (New York: W.W. Norton, 2016), p. 98. 6 “Constant revolutionizing of production” Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, Manifesto of the Communist Party (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1969), Chapter I. 7 from the early 1840s to 1860 Tomas Nonnenmacher, “History of the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Are Public Sector Workers Paid More Than Their Alternative Wage? Evidence from Longitudinal Data and Job Queues
    This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the National Bureau of Economic Research Volume Title: When Public Sector Workers Unionize Volume Author/Editor: Richard B. Freeman and Casey Ichniowski, eds. Volume Publisher: University of Chicago Press Volume ISBN: 0-226-26166-2 Volume URL: http://www.nber.org/books/free88-1 Publication Date: 1988 Chapter Title: Are Public Sector Workers Paid More Than Their Alternative Wage? Evidence from Longitudinal Data and Job Queues Chapter Author: Alan B. Krueger Chapter URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c7910 Chapter pages in book: (p. 217 - 242) 8 Are Public Sector Workers Paid More Than Their Alternative Wage? Evidence from Longitudinal Data and Job Queues Alan B. Krueger Several academic researchers have addressed the issue of whether federal government workers are paid more than comparable private sector workers. In general, these studies use cross-sectional data to estimate the differential in wages between federal and private sector workers, controlling for observed worker characteristics such as age and education. (Examples are Smith 1976, 1977 and Quinn 1979.) This literature typically finds that wages are 10-20 percent greater for federal workers than private sector workers, all else constant. In conflict with the findings of academic studies, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s of- ficial wage comparability survey consistently finds that federal workers are paid less than private sector workers who perform similar jobs.’ Moreover, the government’s findings have been confirmed by an in- dependent study by Hay Associates (1984). Additional research is needed to resolve this conflict. When the focus turns to state and local governments, insignificant differences in pay are generally found between state and local govern- ment employees and private sector employees.
    [Show full text]
  • Tax Notes International Article It's Time to Update The
    ® Analysts does not claim copyright in any public domain or third party content. Tax All rights reserved. Analysts. Tax © 2019 taxnotes international Volume 96, Number 8 ■ November 25, 2019 It’s Time to Update the Laffer Curve For the 21st Century by George L. Salis Reprinted from Tax Notes Internaonal, November 25, 2019, p. 713 For more Tax Notes® International content, please visit www.taxnotes.com. © 2019 Tax Analysts. All rights reserved. Analysts does not claim copyright in any public domain or third party content. VIEWPOINT tax notes international® It’s Time to Update the Laffer Curve for the 21st Century by George L. Salis economic theory could use a redesign for our George L. Salis is the principal economist modern global digital economy. In fact, most economic theories and models evolve in how and tax policy adviser they’re framed and/or applied over time. As at Vertex Inc. and is based in King of economist Dani Rodrik notes in his book, Prussia, Pennsylvania. Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science, “older models remain useful: we In this article, the add to them.” author discusses the necessity of updating Additions to the theory could be important to the applicability of the business and tax executives, given how the Laffer Laffer curve theory to curve and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act it the modern global theoretically helped create continue to produce digital economy. economic, policy, and trade ripple effects around the world. The influence on economic cycles and It’s staggering to think that notes scribbled on national debt levels in turn have major a restaurant napkin can transform into a implications for tax policy decisions, as well as fundamental notion that has for decades served as strategic tax planning activities in the (possibly a rationalization for major tax cuts.
    [Show full text]
  • Ten Nobel Laureates Say the Bush
    Hundreds of economists across the nation agree. Henry Aaron, The Brookings Institution; Katharine Abraham, University of Maryland; Frank Ackerman, Global Development and Environment Institute; William James Adams, University of Michigan; Earl W. Adams, Allegheny College; Irma Adelman, University of California – Berkeley; Moshe Adler, Fiscal Policy Institute; Behrooz Afraslabi, Allegheny College; Randy Albelda, University of Massachusetts – Boston; Polly R. Allen, University of Connecticut; Gar Alperovitz, University of Maryland; Alice H. Amsden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Robert M. Anderson, University of California; Ralph Andreano, University of Wisconsin; Laura M. Argys, University of Colorado – Denver; Robert K. Arnold, Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy; David Arsen, Michigan State University; Michael Ash, University of Massachusetts – Amherst; Alice Audie-Figueroa, International Union, UAW; Robert L. Axtell, The Brookings Institution; M.V. Lee Badgett, University of Massachusetts – Amherst; Ron Baiman, University of Illinois – Chicago; Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research; Drucilla K. Barker, Hollins University; David Barkin, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana – Unidad Xochimilco; William A. Barnett, University of Kansas and Washington University; Timothy J. Bartik, Upjohn Institute; Bradley W. Bateman, Grinnell College; Francis M. Bator, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government; Sandy Baum, Skidmore College; William J. Baumol, New York University; Randolph T. Beard, Auburn University; Michael Behr; Michael H. Belzer, Wayne State University; Arthur Benavie, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill; Peter Berg, Michigan State University; Alexandra Bernasek, Colorado State University; Michael A. Bernstein, University of California – San Diego; Jared Bernstein, Economic Policy Institute; Rari Bhandari, University of California – Berkeley; Melissa Binder, University of New Mexico; Peter Birckmayer, SUNY – Empire State College; L.
    [Show full text]
  • A Reconsideration of Fiscal Policy in the Era of Low Interest Rates
    A Reconsideration of Fiscal Policy in the Era of Low Interest Rates Jason Furman & Lawrence Summers Presentation to the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy and Peterson Institute for International Economics December 1, 2020 Interest rates are low despite debt being high Note: Debt-to-GDP forecast is the CBO 10-year ahead forecast (2030 from June 2019 Alternative Fiscal Scenario for 2020). Real interest rates are based on 10-year Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) from January 2000 and February 2020. Source: Congressional Budget Office; U.S. Department of the Treasury; authors' calculations. Interest rates have fallen everywhere, starting before the financial crisis and continuing after it Real Ten-Year Benchmark Rate Percent 12 Canada France Germany Italy 10 United Kingdom Japan United States 8 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 Note: Inflation measured by one-year changes in the core consumer price index (core personal consumption expenditures for United States). Source: Bank of Canada; Statistics Canada; Eurostat; Japanese Statistics Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; Macrobond; authors’ calculations. Interest rates are expected to stay low Ten-Year Treasury Rate Percent 16 2030:Q4 Market expectations: 14 72% probability FFR < 0.25 12 five years from now 10 Historical 1.4% FFR a decade from 8 now 6 -0.9% real FFR a decade from now 4 CBO 2 2% nominal 10-year rate a Market-implied decade from now 0 1964 1974 1984 1994 2004 2014 2024 Note: Dashed lines are projections. Market-implied rates as of November 27, 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • HAMILTON Achieving Progressive Tax Reform PROJECT in an Increasingly Global Economy Strategy Paper JUNE 2007 Jason Furman, Lawrence H
    THE HAMILTON Achieving Progressive Tax Reform PROJECT in an Increasingly Global Economy STRATEGY PAPER JUNE 2007 Jason Furman, Lawrence H. Summers, and Jason Bordoff The Brookings Institution The Hamilton Project seeks to advance America’s promise of opportunity, prosperity, and growth. The Project’s economic strategy reflects a judgment that long-term prosperity is best achieved by making economic growth broad-based, by enhancing individual economic security, and by embracing a role for effective government in making needed public investments. Our strategy—strikingly different from the theories driving economic policy in recent years—calls for fiscal discipline and for increased public investment in key growth- enhancing areas. The Project will put forward innovative policy ideas from leading economic thinkers throughout the United States—ideas based on experience and evidence, not ideology and doctrine—to introduce new, sometimes controversial, policy options into the national debate with the goal of improving our country’s economic policy. The Project is named after Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first treasury secretary, who laid the foundation for the modern American economy. Consistent with the guiding principles of the Project, Hamilton stood for sound fiscal policy, believed that broad-based opportunity for advancement would drive American economic growth, and recognized that “prudent aids and encouragements on the part of government” are necessary to enhance and guide market forces. THE Advancing Opportunity, HAMILTON Prosperity and Growth PROJECT Printed on recycled paper. THE HAMILTON PROJECT Achieving Progressive Tax Reform in an Increasingly Global Economy Jason Furman Lawrence H. Summers Jason Bordoff The Brookings Institution JUNE 2007 The views expressed in this strategy paper are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of The Hamilton Project Advisory Council or the trustees, officers, or staff members of the Brookings Institution.
    [Show full text]
  • Uncorrected Transcript
    1 CEA-2016/02/11 THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION FALK AUDITORIUM THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: 70 YEARS OF ADVISING THE PRESIDENT Washington, D.C. Thursday, February 11, 2016 PARTICIPANTS: Welcome: DAVID WESSEL Director, The Hutchins Center on Monetary and Fiscal Policy; Senior Fellow, Economic Studies The Brookings Institution JASON FURMAN Chairman The White House Council of Economic Advisers Opening Remarks: ROGER PORTER IBM Professor of Business and Government, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University Panel 1: The CEA in Moments of Crisis: DAVID WESSEL, Moderator Director, The Hutchins Center on Monetary and Fiscal Policy; Senior Fellow, Economic Studies The Brookings Institution ALAN GREENSPAN President, Greenspan Associates, LLC, Former CEA Chairman (Ford: 1974-77) AUSTAN GOOLSBEE Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics, The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, Former CEA Chairman (Obama: 2010-11) PARTICIPANTS (CONT’D): GLENN HUBBARD Dean & Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School Former CEA Chairman (GWB: 2001-03) ALAN KRUEGER Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Former CEA Chairman (Obama: 2011-13) ANDERSON COURT REPORTING 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 2 CEA-2016/02/11 Panel 2: The CEA and Policymaking: RUTH MARCUS, Moderator Columnist, The Washington Post KATHARINE ABRAHAM Director, Maryland Center for Economics and Policy, Professor, Survey Methodology & Economics, The University of Maryland; Former CEA Member (Obama: 2011-13) MARTIN BAILY Senior Fellow and Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Development, The Brookings Institution; Former CEA Chairman (Clinton: 1999-2001) MARTIN FELDSTEIN George F.
    [Show full text]
  • Greenp Eace.Org /Kochindustries
    greenpeace.org/kochindustries Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organization that acts to expose global environmental problems and achieve solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Published March 2010 by Greenpeace USA 702 H Street NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 Tel/ 202.462.1177 Fax/ 202.462.4507 Printed on 100% PCW recycled paper book design by andrew fournier page 2 Table of Contents: Executive Summary pg. 6–8 Case Studies: How does Koch Industries Influence the Climate Debate? pg. 9–13 1. The Koch-funded “ClimateGate” Echo Chamber 2. Polar Bear Junk Science 3. The “Spanish Study” on Green Jobs 4. The “Danish Study” on Wind Power 5. Koch Organizations Instrumental in Dissemination of ACCF/NAM Claims What is Koch Industries? pg. 14–16 Company History and Background Record of Environmental Crimes and Violations The Koch Brothers pg. 17–18 Koch Climate Opposition Funding pg. 19–20 The Koch Web Sources of Data for Koch Foundation Grants The Foundations Claude R. Lambe Foundation Charles G. Koch Foundation David H. Koch Foundation Koch Foundations and Climate Denial pg. 21–28 Lobbying and Political Spending pg. 29–32 Federal Direct Lobbying Koch PAC Family and Individual Political Contributions Key Individuals in the Koch Web pg. 33 Sources pg. 34–43 Endnotes page 3 © illustration by Andrew Fournier/Greenpeace Mercatus Center Fraser Institute Americans for Prosperity Institute for Energy Research Institute for Humane Studies Frontiers of Freedom National Center for Policy Analysis Heritage Foundation American
    [Show full text]