Luskin’s Band of 450 Economists Supporting Privatization

Maybe you recall the letter where 250 Economists Endorse President Bush’s Jobs and Growth Plan. Donald Luskin had promised to get over 450 economists to sign this rather meaningless claim that the Bush deficits were fiscally responsible and were good for economic growth. Even adding his name to the list along with comedian Ben Stein’s, he got only 250 names – few of which wish to be reminded of this silly affair. But the big news over at the Club for Rich People’s Social Security blog is:

More than four hundred-and-fifty of America’s top economists, including Nobel laureates Milton Friedman, Robert Lucas, Robert Mundell, Edward Prescott and Vernon Smith, are calling for the nation’s troubled Social Security system to be reformed by giving workers the option of shifting all or part of their payroll taxes into privately invested accounts.

I don’t see Gary Becker or Robert Barro on this list, but then they have suggested the privatization offers no free lunch. And three of the top economists on this list are Mr. Luskin, Lawrence Kudlow, and Stephen Moore.