Today, The National Journal debuted its Economic Insiders Poll, a "periodic poll of veteran experts on the policy and political dynamics of key issues in the economy." This group of policy experts from across the political spectrum responded to questions about current events related to the US economy, with all responses kept anonymous. Included in the group were CRFB Board Members Alice Rivlin, Doug Holtz-Eakin, William Hoagland, and Robert Reischauer.  

Particularly revealing was the group's response when asked to choose what they thought the US economy needed most urgently out of the following options: immediate discretionary spending cuts, agreement on a credible deficit-reduction plan over the next 5-10 years, substantial investment in infrastructure, deregulation, and fundamental tax reform. Out of 44 votes, 48 percent considered agreement on a credible deficit-reduction plan to be the most important.

The detailed results were:

This poll once again shows how urgent a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan is for our economic future. When will leaders in Washington finally get the message and start focusing on this critical issue?

Click here for the entire National Journal article and a full list of poll participants.