Bernie Sanders\u2019 presidential campaign has taken America by storm, and for good reason. A year ago few could have predicted the relatively little known junior Senator from Vermont would be entrenched in what has become a very interesting race with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination.<\/p>\n
His charisma, willingness to seemingly always speak his mind, and socialist views<\/a> have attracted Democratic voters, particularly younger ones, looking for something other than the malaise that has followed Hillary Clinton since her days as Secretary of State.<\/p>\n Though the exact reason for Sanders\u2019 success is difficult to pin down, as a student I can attest that his unconventional style is popular among my peers who are generally disillusioned by the political system. Either way it\u2019s safe to say many people are \u201cFeeling the Bern.\u201d Unfortunately, an increasing amount of economists are not.<\/p>\n Recently, four notable Democrats<\/em> joined a growing list of economists who are dousing the fire of Sanders\u2019 campaign. A letter<\/a> written by Austan Goolsbee of the University of Chicago, Alan Krueger of Princeton, and Christina Romer and Laura D\u2019Andrea Tyson of the University of California Berkeley criticized the Sanders campaign for embracing unrealistic claims about his economic proposal, including the effects of his well-known national health plan and other programs on economic growth and median household income. Acording to these economists, there is “no credible research” that can support these assertions.<\/p>\n The claims come from University of Massachusetts at Amherst Professor Gerald Friedman\u2019s 53 page report detailing the supposed economic effects of Sander\u2019s plan (the report is not directly cited for privacy reasons, but it\u2019s easy to find with a quick google search).<\/p>\n Though Friedman is not affiliated with Sander\u2019s campaign and actually donates to Hillary Clinton<\/a>, the economists criticize Sanders for the way he has hitched his wagon<\/a> to these numbers which some say are misleading voters, particularly young voters who know very little about the economy and have little perspective regarding economic issues.<\/p>\n Now, Sanders would not be the first presidential candidate to make bold promises regarding economic policies or other issues, but what makes Sander\u2019s claims note-worthy is their particular optimism. Without getting into much detail, one such claim is that his national health plan would generate enough national saving to make the cost of the plan only 13.8 trillion, when, according to economist Kenneth Thorpe, it will be almost twice that<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two other claims, that GDP will grow at a rate of 5.3% (compared to the current 2.4%) and that median household income will increase by 37.5%, also raise more than a few eyebrows in economic circles, to put it mildly.<\/p>\n Having said this, it would be prudent to turn toward the vast majority of economists before you believe the next number that is championed by the Sander\u2019s campaign. After all, no one likes to get Berned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bernie Sanders\u2019 presidential campaign has taken America by storm, and for good reason. A year ago few could have predicted the relatively little known junior Senator from Vermont would be entrenched in what has become a very interesting race with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination. His charisma, willingness to seemingly always speak his mind, and socialist views have attracted Democratic voters, particularly younger ones, looking for something other than the malaise that has followed Hillary Clinton since her days as Secretary of State. Though the exact reason for Sanders\u2019 success is difficult to pin down, as a student Continue reading Are Economists “Feeling the Bern”?<\/span>