Bill Gross, a billionaire Republican, and one of the chief investment officer of the giant bond fund Pimco.

He believes “the government needs to arrest America’s dangerous economic slide.” That sentiment is growing. Economists and the financial industry want policymakers to boost the economy.

The pushback against the Republican austerity agenda is arguably even more intense. Jamison Foser explained this week:

J.P. Morgan says “fiscal tightening” will worsen the “negative feedback loop” hindering economic growth. Greg Ip notes, “A shift toward fiscal and monetary austerity in the United States in 1937 helped prolong the depression. Fiscal tightening helped push Japan back into recession in 1997.” Jared Bernstein argues for more stimulus. Larry Summers, too. Bruce Bartlett, a policy advisor to Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp, writes, “the important thing is for policy makers to stop obsessing about debt and focus instead on raising aggregate demand.”

(via zeitvox)