When Economists Agree (Just Not With Politicians)...

The vast majority of economists understand that one of the main functions of economics is to inform public policy. Most economists also understand the frustration caused by the lack of coincidence between policies that are economically reasonable and those that are politically viable. Recently, it seems as if politicians are even taking this divide one step further by creating and espousing their own economic principles and claiming that listening to economists is unnecessary since they can't even agree with one another on major issues.

As a result, a number of prominent economists have started speaking out in order to set the record straight and dispel the notion that much of what is said in (mainly Republican) policy talks has support from most mainstream economists. For example, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers don't mince words when they explain that "The U.S. Economic Policy Debate Is a Sham":

"In reality, there's remarkable consensus among mainstream economists, including those from the left and right, on most major macroeconomic issues. The debate in Washington about economic policy is phony. It's manufactured. And it's entirely political."

Historically, economists have tended to exhibit right-of-center views, which isn't surprising given the obvious tendency of economists to believe in the power of markets. Now, on the other hand, many mainstream economists either find themselves aligned with the Democratic party on economic issues or, at the very least, at odds with much of the economic rhetoric put forth by Republicans. Daniel Altman, a prominent economics writer, even outlines 5 economic myths that are frequently put forth as factual truth by Republicans but that don't actually have support from the economics community:

"As they girded for each fight against a president they were determined to defeat, the Republicans fell back on the basic tenets of their economic philosophy. Unfortunately for the American people, those tenets were myths. Each one of the economic concepts that the Republicans held dear simply wasn't true, as qualified economists from around the political spectrum agreed."

In fairness, there are some economists who align themselves with many of the principles put forth by the Republican Party (and there may even be some whose salaries aren't paid by the Koch brothers), and it's entirely possible that "most mainstream economists" could turn out to be wrong. Nevertheless, it's misleading and patently incorrect to imply that a policy prescription has widespread support from economists when, in reality, few things could be further from the truth.

I think Justin and Betsey said it best when then asserted that "It's time to put economics back into the economic debate." I would even settle for people recognizing that the economics debate is pretty lacking in actual economics.