Led by Joseph Stiglitz, This Year's Awardees Also Sign
Statement Issued Just Before June Biden-Trump Debate
On the 23rd (local time), 23 economists who have won the Nobel Prize in Economics issued a joint statement supporting Kamala Harris, the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President.
The 23 Nobel laureates in Economics, including Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University, stated in the statement, "While we have differing opinions on some details of various economic policies, overall, we believe Harris's economic policies are far superior to Trump's in terms of the health, investment, sustainability, resilience, employment opportunities, and fairness of the U.S. economy," and declared, "We support presidential candidate Harris."
The list of signatories on this day included Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and co-recipients of this year's Nobel Prize in Economics, as well as Claudia Goldin, a Harvard University professor who won last year. Professor Stiglitz, who led this statement, had previously issued a joint letter in June before the presidential debates between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, criticizing Trump's economic policies and declaring support for President Biden.
In the statement, they pointed out, "Trump's high tariffs and regressive corporate and income tax cuts, which threaten our allies and partners, will increase inflation as well as fiscal deficits and economic inequality," adding, "The rule of law and political and economic stability are key to a country's economic success, but Trump threatens all of these."
On the other hand, they emphasized, "Harris's policies strengthen the middle class, promote competition, and encourage entrepreneurship," and "Her policies will play a much greater role in enhancing the economic power and welfare of our nation and people than Trump's policies."
According to a study by the bipartisan U.S. think tank, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), if the tax cuts, tariffs, and immigration restrictions proposed by former President Trump are implemented, the federal deficit the U.S. will bear over the next 10 years is estimated to reach $7.5 trillion (approximately 1,117 trillion won). During the same period, the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program is expected to face a fiscal deficit of $2.3 trillion (about 3,000 trillion won), with pension benefits reduced by 33%.
Foreign media are paying attention to the timing of this statement, as they did in June. CNN noted, "This statement came less than two weeks before Election Day," and predicted that it could significantly compensate for the long-standing vulnerabilities in the economic performance sector that have troubled Vice President Harris.
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