Membership Requirements

It's very simple and the bar is low:

1. Acknowledge that the general fund deficit is a problem. Not even necessary to say crisis. Support a more aggressive goal than cutting it in half by 2009.
2. Reject the idea that tax cuts and deficit reduction are complementary or compatible.
3. Accept the possibility that tax increases will be required to address the budget deficit.

Send email to rep{period}economists{period}for{sanity}(at)gmail{period}com if you have a blog or post you would like included here.

David Walker - Comptroller General of the United States

The document titled The Long Term Fiscal Challenge has this first paragraph authored by David Walker:

"In my role as lead partner on the audit of the U.S. government’s
consolidated financial statements and the de-facto Chief Accountability
Officer of the United States Government, I have become increasingly
concerned about the state of our nation’s finances. In speeches and
presentations over the past several years, I have called attention to our
large and growing long-term fiscal challenge and the risks it poses to our
nation’s future."

The very next sentence is:

"Simply put, our nation’s fiscal policy is on an unsustainable course."

Hat Tip to talkingpointsmemo.com

Adam Samwick - Former CEA Chief Economist under Bush

On his blog voxbaby.blogspot.com:

In this post, after talking about the need to be more ambitiuos than cutting the deficit in half by 2009 and advocating spending cuts. He continues:

"But if the spending cuts are inadequate, broad-based taxes should go up to get the budget in balance over the business cycle."

And later in the same post:

"I certainly don't support making the remaining 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent before the budget is brought into balance (which, in the current environment, means that I don't support making them permanent)."

It's a start.