Economists Like the Jobs Act a Lot More Than Congress

If President Barack Obama hasn't read Bloomberg yet on his way through the American West to flog his American Jobs Act, his press people have surely stuck it in his reading list. The news service surveyed economists and found them to be overwhelmingly positive on the jobs act, predicting anywhere from a 1.3 percent to a 2 percent boost to the nation's economy if it passes, preventing a recession in 2012. As the Washington Times' Steve Benen points out, "support for the American Jobs Act continues to be much stronger among economists than members of Congress." It gets even better for the White House: the economists Bloomberg surveyed said Republican plans would actually push the economy back toward recession. "A reduction in government spending, the end of the payroll-tax holiday and an expiration of extended unemployment benefits would cut GDP by 1.7 percent in 2012, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli in New York." Those short-hop flights around the country can be a drag, so this reading must surely brighten at least one leg of the trip.