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    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    September 15, 2010

Economists Warn Politicians: Grave Danger Ahead. Spur Jobs Before Deficit Reduction

Statement Challenges Deficit Commission Priorities While Outlining Plan for Growth, Real Deficit Reduction, and Long-Term Investment

NEWS CONFERENCE AUDIO

Listen here to the complete news conference on the economists' statement.

More than 300 economists, policy experts and civic leaders have signed a statement warning political leaders of “a grave danger” that the still-fragile economic recovery will be undercut by austerity economics of the kind being pushed by conservative politicians and by the White House deficit commission.

That statement will be released by the statement's authors and key endorsers during a media conference call at 11 a.m. Thursday, September 16, 2010. It will also be published on a special website, dontkilljobs.org.

President Obama and Congress should “redouble efforts to create jobs” through investments in infrastructure and aid to the states, the statement says. In addition to warning that premature deficit reduction will cripple growth, the statement also warns that some conservative deficit-reduction proposals would undermine such important programs as Social Security, even as they fail to reduce deficits. The economists outline a plan for reviving growth and jobs, effective deficit reduction after the recovery, and investment in infrastructure, green technology and long-term economic productivity.

When: 11 a.m. Eastern time, Thursday, September 16

Call-In Number: 800-895-0198. Code: Jobs

Speakers:

Robert Borosage, Co-Director, Institute for America’s Future

Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research; author, "Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy"

Teresa Ghilarducci, Schwartz Chair of Economic Policy, New School for Social Research; author, "When I'm 64, the Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them"

Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect and Dēmos; author, "A Presidency in Peril: The Inside Story of Obama's Promise, Wall Street's Power, and the Struggle to Control our Economic Future"

Robert Reich, Professor, University of California Berkeley; author, "Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future"
 

Borosage, Baker and Kuttner co-wrote the statement with Institute for America's Future co-director Roger Hickey. It argues for four major propositions.
1. Don’t kill growth and jobs in the name of deficit reduction.
2. Target what drives deficits. Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
3. Restore fiscal responsibility, while investing in the future.
4. Take the high road to fiscal balance.

The Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is a center for ideas and action that works to build an enduring majority for progressive change. The Campaign advances a progressive economic agenda and a vision of the future that works for the many, not simply the few. The Campaign is leading the fight for America's priorities - for good jobs and a sustainable economy, and for strengthening the safety net.
Broadcast