Work Of Moody's Economist Contradicts Napolitano's Interpretation Of Moody's Statement

Written by Zachary Pleat

Published

Fox Business host Andrew Napolitano claimed that a statement from Moody's Investors Service that it may downgrade the U.S. credit rating if the debt ceiling isn't raised “signals” that “stimulus packages have not worked.” However, Moody's economist Mark Zandi has credited the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with raising the GDP and lowering unemployment.

Napolitano Cites Moody's To Claim The Stimulus Didn't Work

Napolitano: Doesn't Moody's Warning “Send A Signal ... That Stimulus Packages Have Not Worked?” Fox's Andrew Napolitano discussed a statement from Moody's Investor Services released earlier that day warning that it may downgrade the U.S. credit rating unless the statutory debt ceiling was increased. Napolitano said:

Moody's said just a little while ago if you don't get your house in order - that is, if you're going to raise the borrowing -- you got to cut the spending. We may reevaluate the creditworthiness of the federal government of the United States.

Doesn't all this send a signal to the big government types that borrowing and spending, that giving away money, that stimulus packages have not worked? [Fox Business, Freedom Watch, 6/2/11]

But Moody's Economist Mark Zandi Concluded That The Stimulus Lowered Unemployment And Increased GDP

Moody's Mark Zandi Credited Stimulus With GDP Increase, Millions Of Jobs. In its sixth quarterly report on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the White House Council of Economic Advisors cited several economic estimates - including estimates from Moody's economist Mark Zandi -- that concluded that the stimulus increased gross domestic product and lowered unemployment:

[Council of Economic Advisors, Sixth Quarterly Report of the Economic Impact Of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 3/18/11]