Krugman and Stiglitz: Crazy Austerity Policies Inflict Untold Damage on Economy

[Bill USA]

Two Nobel laureates, an election, and a shaky economy. The message? We can do a whole lot better.

Though there wasn't too much talk of specific politicians last night, the election certainly hung in air as the two most cited economists in the world met on stage in New York City to discuss where the economy is headed.

The event was hosted by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), Shakespeare & Company Booksellers, and the Fashion Institute of Technology, which, as president Joyce F. Brown reminded the audience, is a premier public institution that has suffered from budget cuts in a shaky economy. She stressed that she worries each day about the economic conditions students will face when they graduate.

Robert Johnson, Executive Director of INET, served as moderator, and kicked off the evening praising Krguman and Stiglitz as his nominees should the prize of Most Courageous Economist ever be offerred. Johnson himself is an economist who has not shied away from tough criticism of the field and policies that hurt the 99 percent. (Stiglitz and Johnson were both contributers to the AlterNet book I co-edited, The 99%: How the Occupy Movement is Changing America ).

The discussion touched on many themes, but the increasing need for economists -- and politicians -- to learn the lessons of history was a key point. Both Krugman and Stigtliz appeared troubled that much of our economic misery is not the result of uncontrollable forces, but self-inflicted pain springing from a failure to appreciate the lessons learned in past crises and to understand the role of government in creating and maintaining a strong economy.
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[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[woo me with science]

2. Call it what it is: theft.

We will see more austerity, and we will see our safety nets shredded, because we continue to ignore the fact that we have not dealt with the deliberate restructuring of our political and financial systems by thieves.

[midnight]

3. Austerity shifts the gambling of the rich on to the poor..

[xtraxritical]

4. It's not from not learning lessons from the past, IT'S AN OBSTRUCTIONIST REPUBLICAN CONGRESS!