Economy: Sanders' plan breaks voodoo mold

Four economic advisers to former President Bill Clinton and President Obama published a letter in The New York Times criticizing Bernie Sanders’ economic policies, saying that “no credible economic research supports economic impacts of these magnitudes.”

Paul Krugman, in posting this letter, labeled Sanders’ plans as voodoo, borrowing from George H.W. Bush’s criticism of Reagan’s trickle-down economics.

Since trickle-down economics still governs our economy, these four economists must still be promoting Reagan’s voodoo. Economic inequality worsened during the Clinton administration. He was better at voodoo economics than Reagan, protecting trickle-down polices and severely damaging the middle and working classes with NAFTA. Sanders’ plan is designed to finally break that mold.

It seems reasonable to ask these four “experts” what credible research they have that Sanders’ economic policies will not meet the levels he projects. Of course they have none, because until Sanders’ ideas have been tried there is no way of knowing.

With high poverty, underemployment and economic inequality growing astronomically, we know the real voodoo economics of past presidential advisers doesn’t work.

Having “tried” voodoo for 36 years, surely we can now try something different without baseless disparagement of Sanders’ proposed economic policies.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Economy: Sanders' plan breaks voodoo mold."