On Monday, I joined with 305 economists from universities, think tanks and businesses across the country to convey a message to the American people: "Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonJoe Biden looks to expand election battleground into Trump country Biden leads Trump by 12 points among Catholic voters: poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden goes on offense MORE's economic agenda is wrong for America."

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Our statement, printed below in its entirety and signed by some of the county's most prominent economic theorists and practitioners, bemoans how "misguided federal policies have produced one of the slowest recoveries on record." It warns that Clinton, the Democratic nominee, "promises to repeat almost all of [President] Obama's policy mistakes" and her "outdated policy prescriptions won't return our economy to the faster growth rates it once enjoyed."

While Clinton offers more of the same, we suggest an alternative. "What America needs, and what Americans deserve," says the statement, "is an agenda of economic freedom: limited but effective government, policies that rely on and strengthen markets, pro-growth tax reform, sensible federal spending restraint, regulatory relief, sound money, and freedom to trade."

According to a report published jointly years ago by more than 70 think tanks around the world, the United States was the world's sixth most economically free country in 2008. Since then, America's commitment to economic freedom has eroded in both absolute and relative terms. An update to the report, released earlier this month, finds that the U.S. now ranks as the 16th most free — behind Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates.

Very disappointing.

The bottom line? With the economy barely growing 2 percent annually and with federal spending, taxes and deficits all projected to rise in the coming decade, we cannot afford to continue for another four years with policies that simply don't work.

Our message is unequivocal. Economic freedom is the key to American prosperity. Hillary Clinton's economic agenda is wrong for America.

Statement by economists concerned by Hillary Clinton's economic agenda

The outcome of this year's presidential election will influence the U.S. economy for years to come. Should Hillary Clinton win that election, her outdated policy prescriptions won't return our economy to the faster growth rates it once enjoyed. And without more economic growth, her agenda won't result in more jobs or a higher national standard of living. Hillary Clinton's economic agenda is wrong for America.

The U.S. economy is underperforming. Misguided federal policies have produced one of the slowest recoveries on record. Since early 2009, the economy has grown at an average annual rate of 2 percent. It could and should be growing 3 to 4 percent.

Hillary Clinton promises to repeat almost all of Obama's policy mistakes. She wants yet another massive debt-financed public works program; she wants to raise tax rates on investment and incomes to nearly 50 percent; she wants to raise the federal minimum wage to at least $12 an hour and supports state and local efforts to hike theirs; she wants to stall America's development of fossil fuels; she wants to continue the Obama administration's regulatory assault on business and entrepreneurship; and she wants to double down on ObamaCare.

What America needs, and what Americans deserve, is an agenda of economic freedom: limited but effective government, policies that rely on and strengthen markets, pro-growth tax reform, sensible federal spending restraint, regulatory relief, sound money, and freedom to trade. These things are necessary if we are to revive American prosperity.

For these reasons and more, the undersigned urge everyone concerned about threats to American prosperity to reject Hillary Clinton's ill-advised economic agenda.

Signed (affiliations listed for identification purposes only),

Burton A. Abrams, University of Delaware

Zoltan Acs, George Mason University

Douglas Adie, Ohio University

Lee C. Adkins, Oklahoma State University

Richard Agnello, University of Delaware

William Albrecht, University of Iowa

Gordon Alexander, University of Minnesota

John W. Allen, Texas A&M University

William Allen, University of California, Los Angeles

Dom Armentano, University of Hartford

Nathan Ashby, University of Texas at El Paso

Howard Baetjer, Towson University Department of Economics

Charles Baird, California State University, East Bay

Marjorie Baldwin, Arizona State University

Ray Ball, University of Chicago

Christopher C. Barnekov, Ph.D., Fort Wayne, Indiana

Bill Barnett, Loyola University New Orleans

James Barth, Auburn University

Robert Battalio, University of Notre Dame

Stacie Beck, University of Delaware

Daniel K. Benjamin, Clemson University

James T. Bennett, George Mason University

Michael Bennett, Curry College

Bill Beranek, University of Georgia

Dianne Betts, Raymond James & Associates

Sanjai Bhagat, University of Colorado

Michael Bond, University of Arizona

Michael J. Boskin, Stanford University

Samuel Bostaph, University of Dallas

Fred Bounds, Georgia State University

John Boyd, University of Minnesota

Michael Bradley, Duke University

Charles Breeden, Marquette University

Wayne Brough, FreedomWorks

Lawrence Brunner, Central Michigan University

Phillip Bryson, Brigham Young University

Van Bullock, New Mexico State University

Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University

David Burnett, Whitworth University and Gonzaga University

Edwin T. Burton, University of Virginia

William Butos, Trinity College

Charles Calomiris, Columbia University

Oral Capps Jr., Texas A&M University

Tom Cargill, University of Nevada

Carmen Carro, AEA Member

James Carter, former Chief Economist, U.S. Senate Budget Committee

Ava Gail Cas, The Catholic University of America

Richard J. Cebula, Jacksonville University

Dustin Chambers, Salisbury University

Don Chance, Louisiana State University

Semoon Chang, Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies

K. C. Chen, California State University, Fresno

Gregory C. Chow, Princeton University

Susan Christoffersen, Philadelphia University

Lawrence Cima, John Carroll University

Lloyd Cohen, George Mason University Scalia Law School

John Coleman, Duke University

Ben Collier, Northwest Missouri State University

Boyd Collier, Tarleton State University

Robert Collinge, University of Texas at San Antonio

Michael Cosgrove, University of Dallas

T. Norman Van Cott, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana

James Cover, University of Alabama

Eleanor Craig, University of Delaware

W. Mark Crain, Lafayette College

Nicole Crain, Lafayette College

John R. Crooker, University of Central Missouri

K. Cundiff, Park University

Ward Curran, Trinity College

Carl Dahlman, US Department of Defense and RAND Corporation, retired

Michael Daniels, Columbus State University

Larry Dann, University of Oregon

Lawrence S. Davidson, Indiana University

Joseph DeSalvo, University of South Florida, Tampa

Allan DeSerpa, Arizona State University

Bob DeYoung, University of Kansas School of Business

Gregg Dimkoff , Grand Valley State University

Floyd H. Duncan, Virginia Military Institute

James Dunlevy, Miami University

Gerald Dwyer, Dwyer Economics

John Eckalbar, California State University, Chico

John Egger, Towson University

Jeffrey Eisenach, George Mason University Scalia Law School

Richard Ericson, East Carolina University

Molly Espey, Clemson University

Mel Evans, Hopkinsville Community College

Dorla Evans, University of Alabama, Huntsville

Eugene Fama, University of Chicago

W. Ken Farr, Georgia College and State University

Michael Faulkender, University of Maryland

Susan Feigenbaum, University of Missouri, St. Louis

Garry Fleming, Roanoke College

Christopher Flinn, New York University

Harold Flint, Montclair State University, retired

Ralph Frasca, University of Dayton

Gary French, Nathan Associates Inc.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

Dave Garthoff, The University of Akron

Robert Genetski, Classicalprinciples.com

Moheb Ghali, Western Washington University

Joseph Giacalone, St. John’s University

Adam Gifford Jr., California State University

David Gillette, Truman State University

Otis W. Gilley, Louisiana Tech University

William Glade, University of Texas at Austin

Rodolfo A. Gonzalez, San Jose State University

Lawrence Goodman, Bergen County, NJ

Daniel Graham, Duke University

J. Edward Graham, University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Phil Gramm, former U.S. Senator, Texas

Wendy Gramm, Mercatus Center, retired

Richard Grant, Lipscomb University

Anthony Greco, University of Louisiana, Lafayette

Kenneth Greene, Binghamton University

Thomas Gresik, University of Notre Dame

Earl Grinols, Baylor University

Noreen Haas-Lephardt, Marquette University

R. W. Hafer, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Simon Hakim, Temple University

Thomas Hall, Miami University

Gerald A. Hanweck, George Mason University

Stephen Happel, Arizona State University

Scott Harrington, University of Pennsylvania

Lydia Harris, Goucher College

William R. Hart, Miami University

Joseph Haslag, University of Missouri

John Haslem, University of Maryland

Janice A. Hauge, University of North Texas

Arthur Havenner, University of California, Davis

Daniel Heath, Georgetown University Law Center

Scott Hein, Texas Tech University

John Helmuth, University of Michigan, Flint

James Henderson, Baylor University

Jesse Hill, Tarrant County College

John Hoehn, Michigan State University

Gregory Hoelscher, Blue Stripe Investors, LLC

Arlene Holen, former Associate Director, Congressional Budget Office

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Director, Congressional Budget Office

Charles L. Hooper, Objective Insights, Inc.

William Hosek, California State University, Northridge

Forrest Huffman, Temple University

Ed Ireland, Texas Christian University

Thomas R. Ireland, University of Missouri at St. Louis

Austin Jaffe, Pennsylvania State University

Mark Jamison, University of Florida

Shane Johnson, Texas A&M University

Dennis Johnson, University of South Dakota

Richard Just, University of Maryland

Alexander Katkov, Johnson & Wales University

Michael S. Kaylen, University of Missouri

Barry Keating, University of Notre Dame

David Kendall, University of Virginia

Richard Kilmer, University of Florida

Charles Knoeber, North Carolina State University

Don Koch, former Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Larry Kudlow

Arthur B. Laffer, Laffer Associates

William Laird, Florida State University

Deepak Lal, UCLA

Nicholas Lash, Loyola University Chicago

Don Leet, California State University, Fresno

Norman Lefton, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

Kenneth Lehn, University of Pittsburgh

Jim Leiby, University of Maine

David Leonard, Miami University of Ohio

Stan Liebowitz, University of Texas, Dallas

Dean R. Lillard, Ohio State University

Christopher Lingle, Ph.D. in economics, University of Georgia

Jody Lipford, Presbyterian College

Luis Locay, University of Miami

Dennis E. Logue, Tuck School at Dartmouth College

John R. Lott Jr., Crime Prevention Research Center

Timothy Loughran, University of Notre Dame

Donald L. Luskin, TrendMacro

R. Ashley Lyman, University of Idaho

Billy Lynn, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, IA

Glenn MacDonald, Washington University in St. Louis

Maurice MacDonald, Kansas State University

Keith Malone, University of North Alabama

David Malpass, Encima Global

Yuri Maltsev, Carthage College

Michael L. Marlow, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Noralyn Marshall, Risk Management Advisors

Paul Mason, McMurry University

Timothy Mathews, Kennesaw State University

John Matsusaka, University of Southern California

Thomas Mayor, University of Houston

John McArthur, Wofford College

W. Douglas McMillin, Louisiana State University

William L. Megginson, University of Oklahoma

Roger Meiners, University of Texas at Arlington

John Merrifield, University of Texas, San Antonio

Steven C. Michael, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

J. Edgar Mihelic, Community Support Services

James Miller III, former Director, Office of Management and Budget

James D. Miller, Smith College

Chandra Mishra, Florida Atlantic University

Ron Moomaw, Oklahoma State University

Steve Moore, FreedomWorks

John C. Moorhouse, Wake Forest University

Barry Morris, University of North Alabama

Frank Murray, University of Minnesota

Robert J. Newman, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

Lilian Ng, Schulich School of Business, York University

Robert D. Niehaus, Robert D. Niehaus, Inc.

Edd Noell, Westmont College

David J. Nye, University of Florida

Jim O'Neill, University of Delaware

June O'Neill, former Director, Congressional Budget Office

Lydia Ortega, San Jose State University

Dale Osborne, University of Texas

Donald Oswald, California State University, Bakersfield

Walton Padelford, Union University

Richard Palfin, Economic Analysis

Charles Parekh, Duff & Phelps

Stephen Parente, University of Minnesota

Randall Parker, East Carolina University

Douglas Patterson, Virginia Tech

Judd Patton, Bellevue University

G. Michael Phillips, California State University, Northridge

Ivan Pongracic, Hillsdale College

Arturo Porzecanski, American University

Barry Poulson, University of Colorado Boulder

James Prieger, Pepperdine University

R. L. Promboin, University of Maryland University College

Gary Quinlivan, Saint Vincent College

Richard W. Rahn, Institute for Global Economic Growth

David Ranson, H. C. Wainwright & Co. Economics Inc.

Eric Rasmusen, Indiana University

James Refalo, California State University, Los Angeles

Jon Reisman, University of Maine at Machias

Mark William Rider, Georgia State University

Christine Ries, Georgia Institute of Technology

Mario Rizzo, New York University

Nancy Roberts, Arizona State University

M. Christopher Roebuck, RxEconomics LLC

Philip Romero, University of Oregon

Steven S. Rosefielde, UNC, Chapel Hill

Larry Ross, University of Alaska Anchorage

Timothy Roth, University of Texas at El Paso

Jack Rowe, University of South Florida

Paul Rubin, Emory University

Roy J. Ruffin, University of Houston

Tony Rufolo, Portland State University

John Ruggiero, University of Dayton

Philip Jay Rushing, University of Illinois

Don Sabbarese, Kennesaw State University

Joseph Salerno, Pace University

Anthony Sanders, George Mason University

Jonathan Sandy, University of San Diego

Robert Sauer, University of Bristol

Thomas Saving, Texas A&M University

Paul Schultz, University of Notre Dame

John Seater, North Carolina State University

Barry Seldon, Florida State University

Sherrill Shaffer, University of Wyoming

Dennis Sheehan, Penn State University, Smeal College of Business

Judy Shelton, Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Ann Sherman, DePaul University

Stephen Shmanske, California State University, East Bay

Don Siegel, University at Albany, SUNY

Evangelos Otto Simos, University of New Hampshire

Timothy F. Slaper, Indiana Business Research Center

Richard L. Smith, University of California, Riverside

Ted Snyder, Yale School of Management

Donald Snyder, Utah State University

Lawrence Southwick, University at Buffalo

Frank Spreng, McKendree University

Brad Stamm, Cornerstone University

Robert Stauffer, Roanoke College

Thomas Stoker, MIT

Bernell Stone, Brigham Young University

Joe Stone, University of Oregon

Michael Sullivan, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Richard Sweeney, Georgetown University

Robert Tamura, Clemson University

T. Craig Tapley, University of Florida

Jason Taylor, Central Michigan University

Timothy Terrell, Wofford College

Rebecca Thacker, Ohio University

Clifford Thies, Shenandoah University

Henry Thompson, Auburn University

David G. Tuerck, Suffolk University

David Tufte, Southern Utah University

Carl J. Ullrich, James Madison University

Richard Vedder, Ohio University

Hrishikesh Vinod, Fordham University

Donald Walker, Indiana University of PA

Sherri Wall, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Alan Rufus Waters, California State University, Fresno

Andrew Weintraub, Temple University

Robert Whaples, Wake Forest University

J. Gregg Whittaker, William Jewell College

Elliott Willman, New Mexico State University

Lonny Wilson, William Penn University

Michael Wohlgenant, North Carolina State University

Arthur Woolf, University of Vermont

Gene Wunder, Washburn University

Sheng Xiao, Westminster College

Bill Yang, Georgia Southern University

Nancy Bord Yonge, Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institution and MicroCapital Institute

Frank Zahn, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Mokhlis Y. Zaki, Northern Michigan University, retired

John Zdanowicz, Florida International University

Jerry Zimmerman, Univeristy of Rochester

Joseph Zoric, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Carter was a deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury under President George W. Bush and served as chief economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.