Institute for Public Accuracy 915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045 (202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa at accuracy.org ___________________________________________________
PM Wednesday, September 25, 2002
Interviews Available:
The U.S. Economy and War
DEAN BAKER, dean.baker at worldnet.att.net, http://www.cepr.net Co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Baker said today: "The economy is facing the largest economic crisis since the great depression. The collapse of the stock market bubble destroyed more than $5 trillion of paper wealth, and the impending collapse of the housing bubble will destroy almost as much wealth...."
DIANA ZUCKERMAN, dz at center4policy.org, http://www.center4policy.org President of the National Center for Policy Research for Women & Families, Zuckerman said today: "The threat of war has sent the stock market reeling, undermined consumer confidence, and is putting enormous pressure on Congress to cut health and safety net programs that millions of women and families rely on...."
RICHARD DU BOFF, rduboff at brynmawr.edu Professor emeritus of economics at Bryn Mawr College and author of "Accumulation and Power: An Economic History of the United States," Du Boff said today: "War against Iraq will cost somewhere between $50 billion and $100 billion by most estimates -- excluding postwar costs of occupation of the country for longer than most Americans realize or care to think about. The effect on the U.S. economy will be mildly stimulative, limited only by a possible run-up of oil prices once U.S. attacks on Iraq begin. The basic economic impact of the war will be fiscal. It will represent one more way that Bush is using the terrorism of Sept. 11, 2001 as a perfect pretext for carrying out right-wing domestic and international policies that he could only dream about before 9/11. In this case, war spending will join 'Homeland Security' spending in crowding out, and reducing, all other 'nonessential' -- in other words, social -- expenditures. The federal budget deficit will be increased, providing another reason to cut government spending; Bush has returned to this theme twice in the past week, and, with congressional Democrats silent on the issue, he has been able to avoid any discussion of his massive and regressive tax cuts coming to a theater near you in the next four to ten years."
DOUG HENWOOD, dhenwood at panix.com, http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html Author of the book "Wall Street," Henwood said today: "Though it looked for a while like the recession ended in December, the economy hasn't really recovered, and forward-looking indicators are slipping. So we're either facing another downturn or an extended bout of economic trouble. If we had a grown-up political culture, we'd be seriously discussing some long-term structural issues, like polarization, debt, the causes of the late '90s bubble and the consequences of its breaking. Instead, we're getting gossipy coverage of corporate scandals -- or were, until the war drums drowned everything else out...."
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
-- Yoshie
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