Paul Krugman Warns: 'We Are Crippling Our Future'

[marmar]

from HuffPost:



Paul Krugman is worried about our future.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist told a meeting of other prominent economists that we're not doing enough in the short term to ensure that country's long-term economic health is taken care of.

"We are crippling our future as well as our present by falling to do what is needed to deal with the short run," the Nobel Prize-winning economist said at the American Economic Association's 2013 annual meeting on Sunday, according to a new transcript by Brad DeLong, an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley. "A failure to deal with the short run is inflicting very large long-run costs."

Though Krugman did not give examples, there are several signs that the prolonged economic downturn is inflicting long-term damage on the economy. For one, the unemployment rate averaged 4.6 percent in 2007, but Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in December that the economy's long-run unemployment rate is now somewhere between 5 and 6 percent. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/paul-krugman-aea-meeting-2013_n_2434563.html

[MrSlayer]

1. Who is "we"?

The people doing this know exactly what they're doing. This is purposeful.

[TheKentuckian]

3. Yup, he probably can't yet bring himself to believe they know they are eating the seed corn.

Krugman is bright as hell but is still waking up in many ways. Not all that long ago he believed most of the bullshit too.

[rhett o rick]

6. Yes they are purposeful.

But not trying to kill the economy, that would just be collateral damage to their greed. They are fighting to get the last of the eggs from the golden goose. They dont purposefully want the goose dead, but capitalism doesnt have safeguards.

We are in the endgame of capitalism. The big fish will soon be after each other.

[EC]

8. Not killing it everywhere. The developed countries are already saturated with product,

so now there will be a turn around. The corps have new customers in the Middle East and Far East. So they'll develop them and down grade us. It's the switcharoo. We'll be the new cheap labor and China and India and DuBai will be the elite countries.

[rhett o rick]

11. I dont believe that will work with unregulated capitalism.

Capitalism worked for about 50 years in the USofA from about 1935 until Reagan because it was heavily regulated. These strict regulations allowed the middle class to prosper. This situation does not exist in India, China, etc. Without regulations capitalism will eat itself. Cheap labor is wonderful for capitalism but if everyone is poor, who will buy the products? Henry Ford wasnt an altruistic person. He gave his workers a good wage because it made him money. Wal-fucking-mart hasnt figured that out, and I dont expect them too. The greed of the capitalist will kill the goose and most likely destroy the planet for human habitation.

[CTyankee]

2. Krugman is unfailingly RIGHT. I would often hope he wasn't back in the day, but he WAS...

god help us if we don't heed him...

[madville]

4. I thought a few trillion dollar coins were supposed to fix everything

J/k

[JDPriestly]

5. They would at least protect us from the madmen in the House, if Obama goes that route.

But he will probably make the mistake of throwing seniors under the bus. Wealthy people are all itching to do that.

[humbled_opinion]

10. Shame too

When so many other options are out there and not even being discussed.... I am getting very disappointed but still hope to hear about...

VAT
Luxury Tax/Wealth Tax
Wall Street Transaction Tax
Bank Transaction Tax
Firearms Ownership Tax
Large Ammunition Federal Tax
SS cap elimination

[JDPriestly]

17. All good suggestions.

[mostlyconfused]

9. What if we just minted one $16 trillion coin and wiped out the debt?

Then, with the current debt ceiling of $16 trillion, and current levels of federal spending and taxation, we could go for about 15 years before we get back up to the debt ceiling and have to deal with this BS again.

[madville]

12. The way things are going, probably more like five years

We've added 7 trillion in debt the last four years if I remember right, it's almost doubled.

[mostlyconfused]

14. Right, but a big chunk of that is because of Bush..

We don't want to go back to Bush's irresponsible fiscal policies, right? The much more "responsible" government under Obama is only overspending by about $1.2 trillion per year.

[mostlyconfused]

15. Mint two or three of them then

Think about it..the debt would be gone, spending can be increased to stimulate the economy, and deficits won't matter for at least 30 years. If QE1, QE2, etc are not devaluing the currency or causing inflation, then why would this?

[abelenkpe]

7. K&R nt

[woo me with science]

13. K&R...."We" aren't doing it, though.

The corporatists who have purchased our government are. At this point, the opinions of the American people could not have less to do with what our government is planning.

We have tried to be heard. We speak loudly in polls, with vast numbers of us across party lines crying out against austerity. We have seen more citizen protest recently than in a very long time. Collectively, we voted for the less extreme of the two corporate candidates we were offered, the one who promised to stand for the 99 percent and defend critical safety nets.

Instead, we will get economy-slowing austerity imposed upon us, we will get more protection of the corrupt bankers, and we will see more assaults on the poor and middle class.

Every single poll shows that the American people want to do what would be more healthy for our economy: trash the very notion of austerity, cut the obscene military budget, and focus on stimulating and investing in this country and its people again. But time and time again, we are brazenly ignored by politicians in both parties who serve those who have purchased them.

We don't have representation anymore. We are ruled.

[woo me with science]

16. Kick