On Tuesday, October 5, Economics and Finance Department faculty will debate whether the United States needs to cut deficits now, or wait until economic growth has been restored. The panel session, the Great Deficit Debate, takes place at 12:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 2 South.

The panelists are Ted Byrley, chair and associate professor; Bruce Fisher, visiting professor and director of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies; Joelle Leclaire, assistant professor; and Kevin Qian, assistant professor. They will address these questions:

Can the government sustain deficits of $1.4 trillion?
Are we creating a future burden for our grandchildren?
Should we cut spending and raise taxes now to fix the problem?
Will the United States experience a Greece-like default?

Panel moderator Ted Schmidt, associate professor, was among 300 economists who signed a statement issued by the Institute for America’s Future on September 16. The statement, “Don’t kill growth and jobs in the name of deficit reduction,” argues that “premature deficit reduction will cripple growth.”

Byrley will argue a concern expressed by some Americans, that if the United States does not control its deficit spending and borrowing now, there will be no Social Security benefits in the near future. “While the views I’ll be representing are not necessarily my own,” said Byrley, “it’s important that voters understand these issues.”