Cash for Inflation-Hit Americans Backed by Economic Odd Couple

It’s the economic equivalent of the 1970s sitcom, “The Odd Couple.”

Two prominent U.S. economists from opposite ends of the political spectrum say the federal government should provide cash to consumers squeezed by soaring inflation and surging energy costs.

Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz and former Federal Reserve Governor Lawrence Lindsey both argue that such a move would be good for the economy, though they differ on the details of how such a plan should be structured.

Stiglitz, who headed the Council of Economic Advisers under Democratic President Bill Clinton, backs a one-time tax rebate for lower- and middle-income ...