Economists react to spending freeze

[ProSense]

Beyond Hysteria: What Economists and Analysts Are Writing

That would be UC Berkeley economics professor Brad DeLong, who is generally pretty sympathetic to the Obama Administration's economic moves:

As one deficit-hawk journalist of my acquaintance says this evening, this is a perfect example of fundamental unseriousness: rather than make proposals that will actually tackle the long-term deficit--either through future tax increases triggered by excessive deficits or through future entitlement spending caps triggered by excessive deficits--come up with a proposal that does short-term harm to the economy without tackling the deficit in any serious and significant way.

In short, they're up in arms.

Krugman is depressed.

I don’t think I’m going to watch the SOTU; all indications are that it will be deeply, deeply depressing.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. The problem is not the cuts, it is the implicit promise

The cuts will be trivial window-dressing. I do not expect them to affect the economy or the deficit.

The reason I am up in arms, and I assume the reason a lot of economists are up in arms, is that a spending freeze is tantamount to a promise to not do anything for the economy going forward.

And, even more importantly, it is an embrace of the Republican world-view.

And even if Obama decided later to change course and demand more economic action this stunt makes the political landscape an even more impossible one for doing anything in the future.

Dangerous. Political stunts have consequences.

[Hello_Kitty]

4. Yeah, if he goes back on this "spending freeze" in any way.

It's yet another weapon to use against him.

[CoffeeCat]

2. and the Stay-at-Home moms think it's dumb!

The economists are unhappy with it, but the stay-at-home moms think it's stupidity on steroids.

Obama is obviously trying to impress conservatives and the Republicans by being a deficit hawk. So, Obama
is going to backtrack on nearly every promise he campaigned on--just to impress a group of malcontents who
will put him through the wood chipper, no matter what he does?

Ok, that makes perfect sense. Piss off everyone who ever voted for you--so you can try to woo the people
who will ALWAYS HATE YOU. Our party, in particular this President, looks like the unpopular kid--trying
to impress the popular kids by buying them off.

It's embarrassing!

This is getting to be more than Obama destroying his presidency and screwing the people who put him in office--he's
damaging our entire party and ensuring that 2010 is a bloodbath and that our party loses the White House in 2012.

This is reckless and stupid.

[Lorien]

3. This is depressing:

"But one administration official said that limiting the much smaller discretionary domestic budget would have symbolic value. That spending includes lawmakers’ earmarks for parochial projects, and only when the public believes such perceived waste is being wrung out will they be willing to consider reductions in popular entitlement programs, the official said."