Delaware Business Blog

UD Professor Proudly at Top of The List

The Cato Institute created an uproar by calling our new President out on his claim of unanimity among economists regarding the stimulus plan. And right at the top of the (alphabetical) list is Dr. Burton Abrams of the University of Delaware. Congratulations to Dr. Abrams for his prominent place on the list.

Dr. Abrams takes his place among the Nobel laureates and many other distinguished economists. This is not just a bunch of crazy Libertarians. Here are Dr. Abrams academic credentials:

Education:
Ph.D., Economics, Ohio State University 1974
M.A., Economics, Ohio State University 1972
B.S., Economics, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1968
He has taught and performed research all around the globe from Europe to Africa.

Here is a copy of the text of the Cato Advertisement:

“There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy.”
— PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA, JANUARY 9 , 2009

With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.
Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we all support a big increase in the burden of government, we do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan’s “lost decade” in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today. To improve the economy, policy makers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.

1) Burton Abrams, Univ. of Delaware

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