Read the text below in order to answer questions 17 and 1...

Read the text below in order to answer questions 17 and 18.

NEW POLICIES TO FIT THE NEW ECONOMY

Growing Prosperity: The battle for Growth with Equity in the 21^st Century, written by two liberal economists, represents a breakthrough in the political debate over the New Economy. This is the first book that lays out a progressive economic policy designed to encourage technology-driven growth, while ameliorating bad consequences such as widening income disparity and excessive dependence on a volatile stock market.

According to the authors, Barry Bluestone and Bennett Harrison, Washington policymakers have been excessively fixated on low inflation and a balanced budget. Bluestone and Harrison term this the "Wall Street" model of growth. This model, if carried into the future, will make it difficult to sustain prosperity over the long run. For one thing, the drive to cut the budget deficit has constrained spending on research and development, education, and infrastructure. Over time, they say, this will slow the rate of technological innovation – the equivalent of eating the seed corn.

The authors of the present book emphasize the need to