Laura D'Andrea Tyson

Recommending further federal action to bolster the economy, economics professor Maurice Obstfeld and business professor Laura Tyson, both members of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisers, write: "Under current conditions, the macroeconomic rationale for significant additional federal funding for state governments is compelling. If plummeting revenues force states to slam on their fiscal brakes, that will undermine the federal government's own countercyclical measures, resulting in a deeper recession, more unemployment and a slower recovery for the entire nation. ... Investors around the world are willing to make long-term loans to the federal government at very low interest rates. The Federal Reserve is committed to unlimited purchases of U.S. securities and Fed Chair Jerome Powell has warned of deep and lasting economic consequences without more fiscal support. Under current and foreseeable economic conditions, the federal government can and should fund another major economic relief package and include at least $1 trillion in flexible funding for state and local governments."