Economists disappointed with Obama, Geithner


A Wall Street Journal poll of 49 economists found that most are deeply critical of the early work of President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

According
(subscription required) to the Journal, "On average, they gave the president a grade of 59 out of 100, and although there was a broad range of marks, 42% of respondents rated Mr. Obama below 60. Mr. Geithner received an average grade of 51. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scored better, with an average 71."
Harry Truman once remarked that he wanted a one-armed economists so that he would never have to hear "on the other hand" again, and this survey was a perfect example of that: 43% think that the economy will need another $500 billion stimulus package -- but another sizable minority dislike the idea of any stimulus package at all, ridiculously claiming that excess debt and excess consumption are not the way to get out of a mess created by excess debt and excess consumption.

Other economists were disappointed by the mixed signals being sent about the administration's plans for the ailing banking industry, but long-term they're bullish: 80% said that now is a good time to buy stocks.

Of course, given how few economists were raising red flags during the boom years that set us up for this month, it's questionable whether we should care at all about the results of this survey.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+70.1212,871.35
NASDAQ+25.432,929.31
S&P 500+9.191,351.83

Last updated: February 13, 2012: 02:17 PM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

19.045+0.17(+0.90)

Alcoa

10.34+0.05(+0.49)

Apple Inc

501.13+7.71(+1.56)

Google Inc 'A'

613.01+7.10(+1.17)

Bank of America

8.285+0.215(+2.66)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.89-0.01(-0.02)

Exxon Mobil Corp

84.44+0.64(+0.76)

Ford

12.59+0.15(+1.21)

Citigroup

33.26+0.335(+1.02)

IBM

192.73+0.31(+0.16)

Yahoo

16.165+0.025(+0.15)

Starbucks

49.105+0.285(+0.58)

Microsoft

30.635+0.14(+0.46)

Home Depot

45.99+0.66(+1.46)

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

DailyFinance BlackBerry App

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Page Loaded in 1329160674611 ms.