Fixing the U.S. Economy.

The article presents the article authors' appeal to the U.S. President George Bush, members of the U.S. Congress, and Chairman of Federal Reserve Board to expedite vigorous economic recovery in 1992-93 and at the same time to speed up productivity growth over the years ahead. The U.S. economy faces both a short-run problem and a long-run problem. Expansionary Federal Reserve monetary policies have the virtue of stimulating spending in the short run on investments that pay off over the long run. As Congress and the Administration decide on such policies, it is of overriding importance that they do it in a way that will not worsen the long-run problem. Long before the recession wages had been falling behind inflation, far behind the aspirations of American workers. It is tempting to try to compensate for these disappointments by lowering taxes. One measure that could help the economy in both short and long runs is the restoration of an investment tax credit, which served the economy well from 1962 to 1986.