EPI debates Cato Institute on Google's Knol

The Economic Policy Institute today began a two-week online debate with the Cato Institute about the $700 billion financial bailout package signed into law by President Bush. This is the first in a series of pre-election debates sponsored by Google using Knol, its new interactive tool that allows readers to suggest edits and leave comments on signed articles. EPI's piece, written by Policy and Research Director John Irons and External Affairs Director Nancy Cleeland, argues that the federal action was imperfect but necessary, and that vigilance is now needed to ensure that taxpayers are protected as much as possible.

The success of the Knol feature depends almost entirely on you, readers and participants. We hope that comments, edits, and additional details will expand the original post and help make it more authoritative and nuanced. We also hope that our exchanges with Cato will help to clarify and strengthen ideas put forward by both sides. We hope you will take a moment to read the essay, rate it, leave a comment, or insert new information in the text. We will gather comments for a week, and then write a rebuttal that encompasses the suggestions while responding to Cato's points. More details about the venture can be found here on the Google blog.