More Economists Sign Letter to Lawmakers
I'd like to take this opportunity to announce that economists Mark Long from UW and Kelly Cullen from Eastern Washington University signed on to our letter to lawmakers to consider all options in addressing the state budget crisis.
I'd also like to respond to Paul Guppy's blog post in which he claims that "nearly half of the [28] signers of economists' letter calling for a tax increase are not economists."
He counts 11 non-economists. I'm not sure I'd call that nearly half.
But more importantly, his claim is off-base. He doesn't name names, but he does describe the 11 and he seems to be including people who have degrees in Economics, teach Economics, and have been published in peer reviewed Economics journals. For example, Prof. Melissa Ahern, a well-respected economist at WSU who teaches Economics and has a PhD in Economics, but whose title reflects her specialization in health.
On other matters, we welcome a lively discussion on the merits of the letter.
