UMass economist paints a rosy picture of Sanders economics
By Dan Majors / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders knew his ideas for stimulating America’s economy would be costly. Programs for infrastructure, pension funds, free public college tuition and paid family leave don’t come cheap.
So the Vermont senator asked an economic team at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to put a price tag on his plans.
The analysis, prepared by economics professor Gerald Friedman, came in at $14.5 trillion over 10 years. But that, the report concludes, is money well spent — a conclusion not shared by many Sanders opponents.
“The Sanders spending program is a significant stimulus to an economy that continues to underperform,” Mr. Friedman said in the report. “These programs will increase economic growth and employment, reduce poverty and inequality, and balance the federal budget.”
Of course, all candidates for president claim to have ideas that boost the economy and put more money in Americans’ pockets. Few, however, predict that they will raise the median household income by 37 percent by 2026, as opposed to the 10 percent growth projected by the Congressional Budget Office. “In real dollars, this means an increase in median household income of over $20,000,” Mr. Friedman said.
“Like the New Deal of the 1930s, Senator Sanders’ program is designed to do more than merely increase economic activity: the expenditure, regulatory, and tax programs will increase economic activity and employment, and promote a more just prosperity.”
Following in the footsteps of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mr. Sanders’ proposals rely on greater government involvement.
“Wage increases and reductions in poverty and inequality will come more from government action, especially increases in the minimum wage, and from progressive taxation, rather than from collective bargaining or the working of competitive labor markets,” Mr. Friedman concluded.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2016/02/14/UMass-economist-paints-a-rosy-picture-of-Sanders-economics/stories/201602140105
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