Harvard Economist Barro Calls Stimulus Bill "Garbage"
(p. A17) Harvard economist Robert Barro being interviewed on the stimulus bill by the Atlantic:
Barro: This is probably the worst bill that has been put forward since the 1930s. I don't know what to say. I mean it's wasting a tremendous amount of money. It has some simplistic theory that I don't think will work, so I don't think the expenditure stuff is going to have the intended effect. I don't think it will expand the economy. And the tax cutting isn't really geared toward incentives. It's not really geared to lowering tax rates; it's more along the lines of throwing money at people. On both sides I think it's garbage. So in terms of balance between the two it doesn't really matter that much.
For the full excerpt of the Atlantic interview with Barro, see:
Robert Barro. "Notable & Quotable." Wall Street Journal (Tues., February 10, 2009): A17.
(Note: italics in original.)
