Congress's Dismal Grades
The editors of National Journal, a respected and independent Washington publication, had the smart idea of inviting 11 distinguished economists to fill out a score card on the economic performance of the Republican Congress. The grades are published in the latest issue of the weekly magazine.</br></br>The economists were asked to score Congress in seven categories, using letter grades. The composite score of four categories was a C, meaning average by historical standards. Two got a B-minus and one a D. Not exactly a huge vote of confidence.</br></br>Who were these 11 judges? National Journal describes them as "prominent 'nonaligned' economists -- people who, by virtue of their work and long careers outside of politics, have earned reputations for delivering unvarnished analysis of economic policy."</br></br>Their individual credentials are impressive. "Ethan Harris, Maury Harris, Allen Sinai, and David Wyss are well known on Wall Street," the editors write. "Nariman Behravesh of Global Insight is one of the most respected economic forecasters. Lyle Gramley is a former governor on the Federal Reserve Board, and Michael Mussa is former research director at the International Monetary Fund. Edward Leamer is director of the Business Forecast Project at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, and James F. Smith is a professor at the Kenan- Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. David Lereah is a longtime chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. Victor Zarnowitz has long worked at the Conference Board, the business group that issues closely watched numbers on consumer confidence and leading economic indicators, and he serves on the committee of economists that decides when recessions begin and end."</br></br>Short-term fiscal policy grades averaged out at B-minus. Gramley and Sinai gave it an A and A-minus, largely because the tax cuts had stimulated investment and productivity. Five others put it down around C, because so little revenue growth was channeled into reducing budget deficits.