Washington, D.C. — Today, nearly 320 economists went on the record in a letter to the president and Congress stating that we must include in the federal budget investments to grow our economy. The letter, organized by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Economic Policy Institute, includes signatories from economists and budget experts at notable universities and institutions across the country.
“Investment is the cornerstone of economic growth and the key to our long-run national prosperity. It creates jobs now and lays the foundation for long-term economic growth and a strong middle class. As Congress begins to debate the federal budget, it must be careful to sustain critical investments in the productive capacity of the United States,” the letter states.
Nobel Prize winners Kenneth Arrow and Eric Maskin, former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Alan Blinder, and former Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and Director of the National Economic Council Laura Tyson are among the notable signatories on the letter.
Full text of the letter is below. To view signatories, click here.
Dear President Obama and Members of Congress:
As economists, we believe it is short-sighted to make budget cuts that eliminate necessary investments in our human capital, our infrastructure, and the next generation of scientific and technological advances. These cuts threaten our economy’s long-term economic competitiveness and the strength of our current economic recovery.
Investment is the cornerstone of economic growth and the key to our long-run national prosperity. It creates jobs now and lays the foundation for long-term economic growth and a strong middle class. As Congress begins to debate the federal budget, it must be careful to sustain critical investments in the productive capacity of the United States.
Both the private sector and the government have critical roles to play in growing our economy: Business investment drives the economy, but public investments provide the foundations on which business investment depends. This winning combination paves the way for America’s economic success. Cutting necessary investments from the federal budget will only undermine the long-term competitiveness and productivity of the American economy.
We recognize that resources are scarce and that fiscal responsibility demands that federal budget policies tackle the long-term budget deficit. But responsible governance demands that we neither damage the recovery today nor forsake America’s economic future by cutting critical investments.
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