What is fiscal policy? Who is responsible for fiscal policy? Economist Mark Thoma observed, “One of the difficulties in using fiscal policy to combat recessions is getting Congress to agree on what...

What is fiscal policy? Who is responsible for fiscal policy?

Economist Mark Thoma observed, “One of the difficulties

in using fiscal policy to combat recessions is getting Congress to agree on what measures to implement. . . . Automatic stabilizers bypass this difficulty by doing exactly

what their name implies.” What are automatic stabilizers?

Name two examples of automatic stabilizers and explain

how they can reduce the severity of a recession.

Source: Mark Thoma, “The Importance of Automatic Stabilizers to

the Economy,” cbsnews.com, January 25, 2010.