Comments on: Paul Krugman’s Austerity debate on BBC

By: The Big Hurt

The Big Hurt — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:13:36 +0000

I loved how Krugman responded to the “moral dimension” argument:

“I think that the crime we’re committing against the next generation is not that we’re going to leave them with more debt. that’s a venial sin [forgivable sin, lesser sin]. the crime is that all of these students are graduating from college with no job prospects, are graduating from college with debts they’ve incurred to get an expensive education and then there are no jobs. that damage that we’re inflicting on the next generation by not having jobs for them which is the result of misguided austerity right now that is the great sin.”

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By: Emocrat

Emocrat — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:48:37 +0000

To further illustrate his hypocrisy, I’m fairly certain he’s only speaking about a very narrow definition of inflation: solely monetary policy.

His accommodative policies, after all, put a couple Trillion in hot money into the hands of market riggers, that have triggered massive spikes in commodities prices, including oil. So clearly he’s not complaining about price inflation.

So the net result of these policies are high unemployment, lower wages and vastly higher prices. And now that we’re finally looking down the barrel of an EU meltdown of sorts, we’ll be in much weaker position going into that financial crisis than we were last time.

Pro-tip: Beat the rush and invest in pitchfork and torch futures now!

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By: David

David — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:15:26 +0000

Ben Bernake, insisting that we must avoid 4% inflation even if it means keeping unemployment higher, is not only engaging in economic madness. He is admitting that is acting ultra vires, in violation of the statutory mandate. The Fed is required to pursue low inflation AND maximal employment. Unemployment remains high, and inflation could rise and still be quite low. The illegitimacy of this is hard to fathom. The idea that it is simply a technical, economic decision, and not a political one that serves a small number of people over the great majority of the public, is a powerful one.

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