A group of Nobel Prize-winning economists released a letter Wednesday in which they expressed support for the policies proposed by Vice President Kamala Harris while warning that the policies of her opponent, former President Donald Trump, would be “counterproductive.”
The 23 Nobel laureates – more than half of all living recipients of the economics award – said that while they may not agree with each other on all details, they believe that the Harris agenda focused on the middle class and entrepreneurship would “improve our nation’s health, investment, sustainability, resilience, employment opportunities, and fairness.”
By comparison, Trump’s agenda of high tariffs and regressive tax cuts would “lead to higher prices, larger deficits, and greater inequality.” In addition, in their view Trump represents a threat to the rule of law and political stability, necessary components of a thriving economy.
The letter was reportedly spearheaded by Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University who won the Nobel Prize in 2001. As CNN’s Phil Mattingly notes, the signatories include MIT’s Simon Johnson and Daron Acemoglu, two of the three economists who won the award just last week.
Since Harris became the Democratic nominee in July, polls have shown that voters trust Trump more on economic matters. The advantage for Trump has been shrinking, however, and a new poll from Associated Press/NORC released this week shows that Harris may have closed the gap. Asked who they trusted more on jobs and unemployment, 43% of poll respondents chose Harris, compared to 41% for Trump.
