Anyone listening to the major broadcast networks — NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS — might be convinced that nearly all economists are united behind Obama’s proposed economic stimulus proposals. Just about all of the reports I have heard exclusively quote economists who think such a fiscal stimulus will be a good thing.
In the blogosphere, however, the debate rages between economists such as Paul Krugman, who think that the bigger stimulus, the better; and those such as Tyler Cowen, who remain unpersuaded. Many of the latter question whether a stimulus will work at all. Others think a stimulus might work in theory but that Congress is too likely to turn it into a pork fest for it to have any positive effect on the economy.
Update: Two more lists of stimulus skeptics can be found in the New York Times economix blog and a John Boehner press release. Plus David Brooks (who I pan in another post) expresses his skepticism for reasons that are more practical than technical.
