Eight years ago Dan Gerlach was director of the NC Budget and Tax Center and was fairly well respected on fiscal policy even by those who disagreed with him. Dan opposed economic incentives and a state lottery. Then he became budget adviser for Gov. Mike Easley and is now president of Golden LEAF, an organization that helps local governments provide economic incentives to companies.
Jason Furman is a Brookings Institution scholar and an economic policy adviser for Barack Obama and has been fairly well respected on health economics even by those who disagree with him. But Furman’s earlier thoughts on how to solve health care more closely match John McCain’s proposal than they do Barack Obama’s.