Making economic policy in Congress
- Delhi Hindustan pub 1986
- 282 : ill
This book explores the many ways that Congress makes economic decisions. The first two chapters deal with overall policy, the middle chapters consider how Congress functions in a redistributive environment, and the next chapters address particular economic issues. The book concludes with an assessment of the implications of economic difficulties for Congress. The first chapter traces the development of economic policy from the Employment Act of 1946 to the Humphrey-Hawkins Act of 1978.Lance LeLoup shows that despite the expanded role of government, there is no consensus on Capitol Hill about what that role should be.. Because of the lack of consensus, both pieces of legislation were seriously diluted as they moved through Congress, and neither con formed to the objectives originally set by their sponsors. The recent economic malaise has sharpened conflict over those objectives and has weakened confidence in the capacity of government to achieve its policy ends. During the growth-oriented postwar decades, it was possible to dampen economic conflict by pursuing a multiplicity of objectives without confronting the contradictions among them. The federal government could promote price stability and high employment; the public sector could expand along with the private sector; guns and butter could both be purchased out of the fiscal dividends provided by an expanding economy. Now that growth is weak and uncertain, Congress (and other policy makers) must face difficult trade-offs. At one time Congress knew what it wanted to accomplish and had confidence in its fiscal tools; now Congress does not know what to do or how to do it.