I was reading my blog list this morning and came across a wonderful read from Lord Skidelsky, John Keynes' Biographer and professor of Political Economy at Warwick University in England.
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/skidelsky49/English
He talks about the fallacy of government as a big household. It's short and to the point, but explains how the US, Britain, and Japan are not in the same situation as the Eurozone.
This article is important because it should bring to light the fact that the government has the capacity to do much more for the economy and its citizens.
The idea is that the government should be responsible to the needs and desires of citizens, but that this should go beyond physical security and education, to economic security” - Economist Jan Kregel. For the government to be truly responsible, it needs to act in a manner that puts the interest of its citizens first, and not its own priorities. The national debt simply represents the desires of citizens to hold safe financial assets. A responsible government understands these desires and operates accordingly.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thanks, David. This is interesting, and it brings to mind the Keynesians who, Nixon once said, included even the hardcore Republicans of his day. But aside from Paul Krugman and a few less notorious academics, the economists who seem to matter these days -- even Gene Sperling, head of Obama's Economic Council and Tim Geithner and other protege's of Larry Summers and Robert Rubin -- seem to look the other way or actually believe that "cap, cut, and balance" is good economics. Mitt Romney, after all, has Professor Hubbard, George W.'s architect of the infamous Bush Tax Cuts, as his economic policy adviser. Ricci is quick to assert that political science has not been helpful for fostering genuine self-government, but what about Economics? When and if the Republicans decide on a nominee, this will be the pivotal point on which the 2012 campaign -- and the collective future of your generation -- will turn. It's incredible!
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. It is hard to try and comprehend the idea of a balanced budget, when top economists have data showing this idea is bad logic. Clinton got lucky with the tech boom, so it worked for a while. That crumbled under W. I think it will be wise for Obama and whoever is Republican competitor is, to take a long look at the economic policies they want to pursue.
ReplyDelete