WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Two former presidential budget officials Sunday urged Congress to be more consistent as a way of improving the economy.
Consistency and progress on issues including tax and entitlement reform and immigration would restore a sense of certainty, particularly on Wall Street, that would lead to eventual improvement in employment, they said.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, director of the Congressional Budget Office under President George W. Bush, said on CNN's "State of the Union" that the tentative agreement on a new budget was a step in the right direction, but was not entirely convincing to the financial industry. "Economic policy by symbolism is not a powerful thing," he said.
Holtz-Eakin said permanent reforms would be more impressive to Wall Street.
Peter Orszag, former CBO director under President Obama, said the symbolism of the budget deal could actually be more constructive than predicted because it showed Washington was not completely paralyzed. "We have not shot ourselves in the foot," he said.
