Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The President Should Call Some Economists

I find this kind of story somewhat disturbing:

President Obama on Monday reached out to billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Ford CEO Alan Mulally for advice as he crafts a major jobs plan to be released after Labor Day. Berkshire Hathaway head Buffett, who has become an Obama confidant, made waves earlier this month when he called on wealthy Americans to pay more in taxes in order to reduce the deficit.

My hope is that this is more about a search for “validators” than a search for policy advice. Yet it seems to me that both inside the administration and outside of it there’s a shortage of turning to economists with specific expertise in recessions for advice on coping with the recession. These things are rare events. Buffett’s a smart guy and an old guy, but the USA has never been in this situation throughout the entirety of even his business career.

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