Clinton veterans see fiscal discipline as key to economic rebound
Steven Senne / AP FILE
Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin is the most prominent veteran of the Clinton administration to offer his economic advice to Sen. John Kerry.
By Martin Wolk
Chief economics correspondent
MSNBC
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5842079/4:13 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2004
When Sen. John Kerry’s campaign wanted to refocus attention on the economy this week, officials turned to a group of Nobel Prize-winning economists who warned of President Bush’s “reckless and extreme” fiscal policy. Earlier in the month the campaign put the spotlight on its most prominent supporter from the business world, Robert Rubin, who said the prospect of long-term deficits is at the heart of the nation’s economic troubles.
Kerry’s stump speeches pledge better-paying jobs and relief for stressed middle-class families, focusing on “kitchen table” issues like the cost of health care and college tuition. But the campaign’s relentless focus on the budget deficit reflects the priorities of an economic team dominated by veterans of the Clinton administration.
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Members of Kerry’s economic policy team were busy this week analyzing reams of economic data, including a Census Bureau report showing a $1,535 decline in average real household income over the past three years. Importantly, that figure excludes the impact of federal tax cuts signed into law by President Bush, but Kerry campaign officials say the tax cuts have not been enough to offset the decline in income for most families.
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The 10 Nobel economists who weighed in this week with an endorsement of Kerry took particular exception to the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, saying they worsened the long-term deficit outlook without doing anything to spur job growth.