July 18, 2008. Over 110 economists from throughout New York state say the Lazio tax cut proposals are economically and socially irresponsible, jeopardizing Social Security and Medicare. Full statement, followed by a list of the economists endorsing it.
Several weeks ago, eight Nobel laureates and over 300 other economists issued a public statement opposing the large-scale tax cuts that are the centerpiece of presidential candidate George W. Bush’s economic proposals.
We, the undersigned, as economists who live and/or work in New York State, believe that it is necessary to point out that the tax cuts that have been proposed by senatorial candidate Rick Lazio are similarly flawed. While the Lazio and Bush plans differ in a number of their specifics, they share the following shortcomings:
First, the cost of the Lazio tax cuts, combined with his proposed spending increases, would more than exhaust the portions of the projected federal budget surplus that are not attributable to, and needed for the long term solvency of, Social Security and Medicare.
Second, like any long-term economic projection, estimates of sustained budgetary surpluses over the next ten years are at best educated guesses. Should projected surpluses fail to materialize, Lazio’s tax cuts would risk returning us to the era of running chronic deficits to meet routine operating expenses of the federal government. It would seriously reduce the capacity of the federal government to maintain future Social Security and Medicare benefits.
Third, a large tax cut is the wrong priority. Even after a decade of solid economic growth, important public needs remain to be met. These include investment in education, health care, basic research, and other areas essential for long-term prosperity and social well-being. Rick Lazio’s tax cut would leave little room for such investments.
Fourth, Lazio’s proposals would shift after-tax income to high-income persons who have already gained the most from the current economic boom. These additional tax benefits for the wealthy would come at the expense of middle- and low-income Americans. Targeting the surplus to these families as proposed by Hillary Clinton makes more sense.
The prospect of a sustained budget surplus – should it materialize – provides America with the opportunity to invest in its future and to help more of its citizens participate in prosperity. To waste that opportunity with this tax scheme would be economically and socially irresponsible.
List of Economists Endorsing Statement, as of October 28:Affiliations provided for identification purposes only.
David Andrews HAMILTON COLLEGE
Said Atri SUNY OSWEGO
Hamid Azari SUNY NEW PALTZ
Christopher B. Barrett CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Sandra Baum SKIDMORE COLLEGE
William Baumol NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Lourdes Beneria CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Peter Birckmayer SUNY EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE
Theodore F. Byrley SUNY BUFFALO STATE
Mariam K. Chamberlain NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN
J. Dennis Chasse SUNY BROCKPORT
Howard Chernick HUNTER COLLEGE, CUNY
Robert Cherry BROOKLYN COLLEGE, CUNY
Paul Christensen HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Ken Christiansen ITHACA COLLEGE and BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY, SUNY
Clifford D. Clark BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY, SUNY
Doug Criscitello ( Former Director, NYC Independent Budget Office)
Jayne Dean WAGNER COLLEGE
Gregory DeFreitas HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Thomas DelGiudice SUNY OLD WESTBURY
Padma Desai COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Ranjit S. Dighe SUNY OSWEGO
Romesh Diwan RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
Matthew P. Drennan CORNELL UNIVERSITY
William D. Duncombe SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Debra S. Dwyer SUNY STONY BROOK
Linda N. Edwards CUNY GRADUATE CENTER
Joseph G. Eisenhauer CANISIUS COLLEGE
Marianne C. Fahs NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY
Massoud Fazeli HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Gary Fields CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Judith Fields LEHMAN COLLEGE, CUNY
Frederick G. Floss SUNY BUFFALO STATE
Harold O. Fried UNION COLLEGE
Alan Frishman HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES
William Ganley SUNY BUFFALO STATE
Irv Garfinkel COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Christophre Georges HAMILTON COLLEGE
Helen Lachs Ginsburg BROOKLYN COLLEGE, CUNY
William Goldsmith CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Ulla Grapard COLGATE UNIVERSITY
Robert Guttman HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Mitchell Harwitz UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SUNY
Curtis Haynes SUNY BUFFALO STATE
Robert Heilbroner NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY
Joan Hoffman JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, CUNY
Elizabeth Holtzman HERRICK FEINSTEIN (Former NYC Comptroller)
David Howell NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY
Vedit Inal HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Joseph Jamison NYS AFL – CIO
Bernard Jump, Jr SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Alfred E. Kahn CORNELL UNIVERSITY
John Kane SUNY OSWEGO
Lawrence Jay Kaplan JOHN JAY COLLEGE, CUNY
Christopher Kilby VASSAR COLLEGE
Terrence Kinai UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY, SUNY
J. Douglass Klein UNION COLLEGE
Tim Koechlin SKIDMORE COLLEGE
Edward C. Kokkelenberg BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY, SUNY
Doug Koritz SUNY BUFFALO STATE
Nicholas K. Kozlov HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Mark Levinson UNITE
Irene Lurie UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY, SUNY
Malgosia Madajewicz COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Christopher Magee BARD COLLEGE
Larry Malone HARTWICK COLLEGE
Jay Mandle COLGATE UNIVERSITY
Frank Mauro FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE
Roberto Mazzoleni HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Alan K. McAdams CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Patrick A. McGuire HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES
Martin Melkonian HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Jo Beth Mertens HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES
Thomas Michl UNION COLLEGE and COLGATE UNIVERSITY
Jerry Miner SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Fatemeh Moghadam HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Simin Mozayeni SUNY NEW PALTZ
Thomas Muench SUNY STONY BROOK
Charlotte Muller CUNY GRADUATE CENTER
Bill Mulrow GABELLI ASSET MANAGEMENT
Edward Nell NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY
Dick Netzer NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Egon Neuberger SUNY STONY BROOK
Carol O’Cleireacain BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
William O’Dea SUNY ONEONTA
Mehmet Odekon SKIDMORE COLLEGE
James Parrott FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE
Steve Pendleton SUNY BUFFALO STATE
Kenneth R. Peres COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA
Alex Ratkowski SUNY BUFFALO STATE
Cordelia Reimers HUNTER COLLEGE, CUNY
Trudi Renwick FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE
Carl Riskin QUEENS COLLEGE, CUNY
Leonard Rodberg QUEENS COLLEGE, CUNY
Jean-Paul Rodrique HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
Elizabeth Roistacher QUEENS COLLEGE, CUNY
Sumner Rosen COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Roy Rotheim SKIDMORE COLLEGE
Sid Saltzman CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Amin Sarkar SUNY FREDONIA
Michael Schleifer HUNTER COLLEGE, CUNY
Amy Ellen Schwartz NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Elliott Sclar COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Anwar Shaikh NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY
Richard Shirey SIENA COLLEGE
Timothy Smeeding SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
David Sturges COLGATE UNIVERSITY
William Tabb QUEENS COLLEGE, CUNY
Jill Tiefenthaler COLGATE UNIVERSITY
Marc Tomljanovich COLGATE UNIVERSITY
Christina Trees SUNY COBLESKILL
Scott Trees SIENA COLLEGE
A. Dale Tussing SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
Ashok Vora BARUCH COLLEGE, CUNY
Shaianne T. Osterreich Warner ITHACA COLLEGE
Stephen Walsh SUNY ONEONTA
Stanislaw Wellisz COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
James Wyckoff UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY, SUNY
Michael Zweig SUNY STONY BROOK