Economists Speak Out

October 06, 2004

Call it Economists Speak Out Day , if you will. Today, a total of 729 men and women with a lot of knowledge about fiscal matters blasted President Bush and his policies in two separate letters. The first, an open letter signed by 169 tenured professors of business and economics, decried how every major economic indicator has taken a nosedive since the Bush administration took the reins. The professors hammer home the point that the tax cuts did not work, and argue that the income inequality inherent in a free-market scheme has been taken to an extreme. SEE LETTER #1 The second letter, signed by 560 economists, including several former Nobel Laureates, calls for an increase in the minimum wage—which hasn't gone up in seven years. They propose a moderate increase to ease workers' hardships without incurring serious adverse effects like increasing unemployment. SEE LETTER #2