Moody’s Analytics Mark Zandi and American Enterprise Institute economic policy director Kevin Hassett agreed the so-called "fiscal cliff" will have to be resolved immediately to avoid pushing the country into recession, but they disagreed on how to raise revenue to achieve fiscal sustainability.
They spoke Thursday at a hearing held by the Joint Economic Committee, chaired by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). In remarks, Mr. Zandi said to avert a deep impact on the economy the budget proposal has to scale back the cliff, raise or eliminate the debt ceiling, and address long-term fiscal issues, including both tax reform and a tax increase.
Mr. Hassett does not believe new taxes would address tough choices on entitlements and would hurt business investment and job growth. In addition, Mr. Zandi said President Obama’s spending cut proposal falls short and should be doubled.