What Should Be Done to Spur Economic Growth?

In his most recent Washington Post column, Robert Samuelson takes note of the prescriptions of a rather heterogeneous group of economists. Of their prescriptions, I agree with Dean Baker’s, Susan Dudley’s, and Alan Viard’s. I think that all of the prescriptions are pretty weak tea.

In addition to the prescriptions of those above, I’d cut military spending (and substantially reduce our military commitments), limit the growth in the Medicare reimbursement rate to the non-healthcare rate of inflation, get the AMA out of the business of determining reimbursement rates, and make what I think would prove a very painful decision. Either we’ve got to start applying tariffs to the manufactured goods of countries that don’t have labor and environmental regulations at or above the standards of ours (or that fail to enforce their laws) or we’ve got to reduce our own labor and environmental regulations to match their effective regulations. I’d rather impose a stiff duty on Chinese manufactured goods and have clean air than have free trade and Chinese labor and environmental standards but maybe that’s just me.

I’d also eliminate our maze of aids to the poor in favor of a guaranteed national income. I guess that depends on your priorities.