Bipartisan Group of Economists and Policymakers Cite Harris’ Vision for an Opportunity Economy
“The choice in this election is clear: between failed trickle-down economic policies that benefit the few and economic policies that provide opportunity for all”
Follows 90+ CEOs and Business Leaders Endorsing Harris While Trump Promises to Unilaterally Raise Taxes
With both Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump set to speak on the economy this week, more than 400 independent economists and economic policy experts endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for President, praising her vision for an Opportunity Economy that supports middle-class families and small businesses.
The endorsement came in an open letter circulated among independent economists and builds on the widespread support for Vice President Harris’ New Way Forward agenda, including from the nearly 100 current and former business leaders and the Leadership Now Project, who endorsed her candidacy and plans to support middle-class families and small businesses while bringing down costs and growing the economy.
As polls show Americans continuing to coalesce behind Vice President Harris, Donald Trump is threatening to implement his national sales tax unilaterally – sidestepping Congress to hike the typical family’s taxes by nearly $4,000. That plan is part of Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda, which will set off an inflation bomb according to 16 Nobel laureates, drive up the deficit according to multiple reports, shrink the economy according to Goldman Sachs, and trigger a recession by mid-2025 according to Moody’s.
Signers of today’s independent open letter include a former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman, former Secretaries of the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Labor; former heads of the National Economic Council and Council of Economic Advisors; and economists representing roughly 150 universities in 35 states and territories, including recipients of the Nobel Prize and the John Bates Clark Medal.
See below:
CNN: Over 400 economists and ex-officials endorse Kamala Harris
[Matt Egan, 9/24/24]
- More than 400 economists and former high-ranking US policymakers are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and her vision for the American economy, according to a document announcing the endorsement seen by CNN.
- The mass endorsement lands as Harris tries to erode former President Donald Trump’s lead on the economy, a critical issue that many Americans say could decide their vote this election.
- The backing for Harris comes largely from left-leaning economists and officials who served under Democrats, including top Biden economist Brian Deese; Obama administration officials Jason Furman, Bill Daley and Penny Pritzker; and Clinton-era policymakers Robert Reich and Alan Blinder, who also served as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.
- “The choice in this election is clear: between failed trickle-down economic policies that benefit the few and economic policies that provide opportunity for all,” the endorsement document reads. “It is a choice between inequity, economic injustice, and uncertainty with Donald Trump or prosperity, opportunity, and stability with Kamala Harris, a choice between the past and the future.”
- The two candidates are set to deliver dueling speeches this week detailing their contrasting economic agendas. Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks on his tax plan on Tuesday in Georgia, a key battleground state that he lost in 2020. Harris plans to roll out new policies on what she calls the “opportunity economy” during a speech in Pennsylvania, another key battleground state, on Wednesday.
- Several notable economists threw their weight behind Harris, including University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers and Claudia Goldin, who won the Nobel Prize last year for tracking women’s labor participation and the evolving wage gap.
- “With Kamala Harris in the White House, workers, families, and businesses can be confident that they have a president who will work relentlessly to build a strong, pro-growth economy for all Americans,” reads the endorsement, which was also signed by former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and ex-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, both Democrats.
- The endorsement argued that Harris has a “proven track record of economic leadership,” crediting her with efforts as vice president to lower costs, cut taxes and raise wages.
- Some other Democratic heavyweights, including former Clinton Treasury secretaries Larry Summers and Robert Rubin, endorsed Harris earlier this month as part of a broader endorsement by business leaders including Mark Cuban and James Murdoch.
- However, some economists have warned that Trump’s tariffs and plans for mass deportations could cause price spikes.
- “Donald Trump’s proposed policies risk reigniting inflation and threaten the United States’ global standing and domestic economic stability,” the endorsement document obtained by CNN reads. “Nonpartisan researchers have predicted that if Donald Trump successfully enacts his agenda, it will lower GDP growth and increase the unemployment rate.”
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