3 Doubt Jobs, Growth Goals Can Be Met: Carter Plan Too Modest, Leading Economists Say
President-elect Jimmy Carter's proposed tax and spending program is probably too modest to enable him to reach his goals of lowering the unemployment rate to (5.5 per cent by yearÛªs end and boosting the economic growth rate to (5 per cent, three leading economists testified yesterday.</br></br>None of the economistsÛÓincluding the director of the Congressional Budget Office and two former chairmen of the Council of Economic AdvisersÛÓcalled the program inadequate, but each implied that the amount of economic stimulus it contained was too little.</br></br>An analysis of a set of proposals similar to CarterÛªs by Congressional Budget Office director Alice Rivlin indicated the President-elect Could reach his targets only it every "optimisticÛ assumption in her forecast came true.</br></br>And both economic advisersÛÓPaul McCracken, who headed President NixonÛªs council, and Walter W. Iiellcr, headed the Kemicdy-Johnson ÛÓ called for programs bigger than the one proposed late last week by Carter.</br></br>Their testimony came before the Senate Budget Committee which is considering whether to revise the budget it adopted last September because the economy is weaker than it was predicted to be.