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GOP Proposals ‘Would Earn Failing Grades’ In Econ 101, Professors Say

The economy, understandably, has been the most widely discussed topic in the Republican party’s presidential campaign, with candidates proposing various tax plans, deficit reduction proposals, and ideas they say will help put Americans back to work. Many of those plans, like Herman Cain’s 999 tax plan and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s flat tax proposal, have been widely panned by economic analysts. Other ideas, like Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s pledge to return gas to $2 a gallon and Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s ubiquitous calls to return to the gold standard, have been laughed off as unserious ways to address economic problems.

It turns out, however, that forcing poor and middle-class Americans to pay the price of deficit reduction while pushing huge tax cuts for the rich aren’t just bad policies for major party presidential candidates to put forward — they’d be failing proposals even from 18-year-old college students. According to professors surveyed by CNN Money, the GOP proposals are so bad, they wouldn’t even pass an Economics 101 class:

Stephen Golub, who is teaching Econ 101 at Swarthmore College this semester, said some of the ideas floated by Presidential candidates would earn a failing grade in his class.

“I think it’s grossly irresponsible what they are saying,” Golub said. “It’s not about economics. It’s about getting elected. They are promising things that are impossible to deliver or make little sense.” […]

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Another professor who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Michael Salemi, was able to identify statements from six candidates that “would earn failing grades in my Econ 101 class.” […]

Bernard Salanie, an economics professor at Columbia University, said Perry’s simplified tax form just won’t cut it.

“It is a bit depressing to again hear the argument that we will be well on the road to recovery once our tax returns fit on a postcard,” Salanie said.

Econ professors aren’t the only ones giving failing grades to the GOP’s economic proposals. Republicans, including Mitt Romney, have continually pushed for a Balanced Budget Amendment, an idea former Reagan economist Bruce Bartlett said looked “like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin.” Meanwhile, the American people also gave Republicans failing marks, blaming the GOP for intentionally sabotaging the economy to hurt President Obama politically.