Paul Krugman in PBS NewsHour discussion about stock market and possible global recession

[alp227]

Run time: 12:06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67F4hTtCNa4   Posted on YouTube: August 09, 2011 By YouTube Member: PBSNewsHour Views on YouTube: 110   Posted on DU: August 09, 2011 By DU Member: alp227 Views on DU: 1883

 
Stocks plummeted on Wall Street and around the world on Monday, as President Obama tried to reassure investors that the United States continues to be an "AAA country." Judy Woodruff discusses the historic drop in the stock market with three experts.

In this discussion:
- Paul Krugman, Princeton University economist and New York Times columnist
- Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard professor, former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund and co-author of This Time Is Different, a new book about financial crises
- Terry Belton, J.P. Morgan Chase head of fixed income strategy

Transcript

Krugman's first statement:

The reason that the S&P downgrade mattered, if it did at all, is not that it made people think that U.S. debt was unsafe. In fact, people have piled into U.S. debt, right? Interest rates on U.S. government debt are at their lowest point since January 2009.

What the downgrade did is, it made people think that the U.S. government is now going to be hamstrung, not able to take action to prop up the economy, not because it can't actually finance the debt -- the spending, not because it's in real fiscal trouble, but because some guys at S&P by calling that downgrade have bullied the U.S. economy, have bullied the U.S. government into taking actions that are going to be the wrong thing to do.

[chervilant]

1. Well, now...

For 2007-2010, real GDP decreased at an average annual rate of 0.3 percent; in the previously published estimates, real GDP had increased at an average annual rate of less than 0.1 percent.

This is current GDP Data, released at "8:30 A.M. EDT, FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2011BEA 11-38" by the US DOC, BEA. I copied the entire press release, fearing it would have a briefer lifespan than an ice cube in a forest fire. I have seen NOTHING about this data in the M$M or on either of the 'left-leaning' blogs I frequent.

In other words, by definition, our nation has been in a depression these past four years. However, just as they did in the 80s, the Big Dogs in the financial arena are obfuscating and/or omitting key information, so that much of the citizenry remains deluded and/or uninformed.

Of note is the fact that our much vaunted financial 'experts' stopped using the word 'Panic' to define 'economic downturns' after the Knickerbocker Trust got it's knickers in a bunch...

[Ragrum]

2. Time to have our Congress start working for

Time is past I know but better late than sorry: Time for the COngress to start working for the government's benefit rather than working for politics sake.

[vaberella]

3. You should tell the American people this and tell them to vote right and not for Teabaggers.

Congress is the problem through the root of their issue which is made up of stupid American people who either voted for Teabaggers and Republicans, those who didn't vote because they either wanted to teach Obama or Dems a lesson, or those who advocated against voting for the second reason listed, or those who don't vote if it's not GE.

Until people realize that they need to vote right in Congress----Congress will do shit for no one besides themselves.

[jimlup]

4. Inciteful discussion - thanks!

Been meaning to try and watch PBS news more often. I usually sucker into the major networks and forget PBS. But they actually do a much better job - particularly when there is big news like yesterday.