Wednesday, August 11, 2010

NEC, CEA, OMB: The Alphabet Soup of economic policy

The OMB and CEA chairs are leaving, while the NEC chair is staying ... so what in blazes does that all mean?! For the nostalgia factor alone, Keith Hennessey's post on economic policy inside the Executive branch is a fun read, and it's also helpful for thinking about who does what and with how much of a consulting vs. advising role.

Thanks as usual to Greg Mankiw's blog for that cite, and to Ezra Klein's informal poll about the Laffer Curve. That's interesting on several levels, and definitely because it illuminates the different objectives one might have in mind when discussing an "optimal" tax rate. Does that mean, "revenue maximizing," as is typical in discussions of the "Laffer Curve," or does it mean "growth maximizing," which could easily be different?