“A snarky but accurate description of monetary policy over the past five years is that the Federal Reserve successfully replaced the technology bubble with a housing bubble” YearsPastTechnologyFivePolicyFive YearsDescriptionBubblesAccurateReservesReplacedHousingOver The PastMonetaryFederal ReserveMonetary PolicyHousing Bubble Author:Paul Krugman
“What the Depression teaches us is that when the economy is so depressed that even a zero interest rate isn't low enough, you have to put conventional notions of prudence and sound policy aside.” EnoughSoundInterestTeachEconomyPolicyLowsNotionRateZeroConventionalPrudenceInterest Rate Author:Paul Krugman
“Many people ... prefer to describe themselves as progressives rather than liberals. To some extent that's a response to the decades-long propaganda campaign conducted by movement conservatives, which has been quite successful in making Americans disdain the word liberal but much less successful in reducing support for liberal policies.” PeopleLongHas BeensSupportSuccessfulPolicyMovementResponseDecadesCampaignsPropagandaReducingDisdain Book:The Conscience of a Liberal Source: The Conscience of a Liberal
“There is no economic policy. That's really important to say. The general modus operandi of the Bushies is that they don't make policies to deal with problems. They use problems to justify things they wanted to do anyway. So there is no policy to deal with the lack of jobs. There really isn't even a policy to deal with terrorism. It's all about how can we spin what's happening out there to do what we want to do.” WantImportantUseProblemWantedJobsDealsEconomicPolicyHappeningsTerrorismJustifyEconomic PolicyModus Operandi Author:Paul Krugman
“I've always believed in expansionary monetary policy and if necessary fiscal policy when the economy is depressed.” IfsEconomyPolicyAlways BelieveMonetaryMonetary PolicyFiscal Policy Author:Paul Krugman
“When depression economics prevails, the usual rules of economic policy no longer apply: virtue becomes vice, caution is risky and prudence is folly.” VirtueEconomicPolicyEconomicsVicesFollyUsualCautionPrudenceEconomic Policy Author:Paul Krugman
“America's political landscape is infested with many zombie ideas - beliefs about policy that have been repeatedly refuted with evidence and analysis but refuse to die. The most prominent zombie is the insistence that low taxes on rich people are the key to prosperity.” PeopleHas BeensIdeasAmericaPoliticalDiesBeliefRichPolicyKeysTaxesLowsEvidenceProsperityRefuseLandscapeAnalysisZombieRich PeopleProminentInsistence Author:Paul Krugman
“[T]he next time you hear serious-sounding people explaining the need for fiscal austerity, try to parse their argument. Almost surely, you'll discover that what sounds like hardheaded realism actually rests on a foundation of fantasy, on the belief that invisible vigilantes will punish us if we're bad and the confidence fairy will reward us if we're good. And real-world policy - policy that will blight the lives of millions of working families - is being built on that foundation.” PeopleIfsWorldNeedsTryingRealNextBeliefSoundMillionsFantasyPolicySeriousBuiltArgumentFoundationRewardsInvisibleFairyReal WorldRealismNext TimeExplainingAusterityBlightVigilante Author:Paul Krugman
“Generous unemployment benefits can increase both structural and frictional unemployment. So government policies intended to help workers can have the undesirable side effect of raising the natural rate of unemployment.” PhilosophyHelpingGovernmentPoliticalSidesNaturalEffectsPolicyBenefitsEconomicsIncreaseWorkersRateGenerousUnemploymentSide EffectsUndesirableGovernment PolicyUnemployment Benefits Book:CourseSmart E-Book for Macroeconomics: A PDF-style E-Book Source: CourseSmart E-Book for Macroeconomics: A PDF-style E-Book
“I've always believed that a speculative bubble need not lead to a recession, as long as interest rates are cut quickly enough to stimulate alternative investments. But I had to face the fact that speculative bubbles usually are followed by recessions. My excuse has been that this was because the policy makers moved too slowly - that central banks were typically too slow to cut interest rates in the face of a burst bubble, giving the downturn time to build up a lot of momentum.” NeedsGivingLongHas BeensEnoughPhilosophyFactsFacesPoliticalInterestCuttingPolicyEconomicsMovedInvestmentRateExcuseAlternativesMakersBubblesAlways BelieveMomentumRecessionsInterest RateCentral BanksPolicy MakersDownturn Author:Paul Krugman
“It should be possible to emphasize to students that the level of employment is a macroeconomic issue, depending in the short run on aggregate demand and depending in the long run on the natural rate of unemployment, with microeconomic policies like tariffs having little net effect. Trade policy should be debated in terms of its impact on efficiency, not in terms of phoney numbers about jobs created or lost.” ShouldLittlesLongPhilosophyRunningJobsPoliticalLostTermNaturalLevelsNumbersIssuesEffectsPolicyStudentsDemandEconomicsTradeImpactRateEmploymentLong RunsEfficiencyUnemploymentTariffsMacroeconomicsMicroeconomics Author:Paul Krugman
“The great thing about fiscal policy is that it has a direct impact and doesn't require you to bind the hands of future policymakers.” HandsPolicyDirectImpactGreat ThingsFiscal Policy Author:Paul Krugman
“There has been plenty to criticize about President Obama’s handling of the economy. Yet the overriding story of the past few years is not Mr. Obama’s mistakes but the scorched-earth opposition of Republicans, who have done everything they can to get in his way - and who now, having blocked the president’s policies, hope to win the White House by claiming that his policies have failed.” WayYearsHas BeensDoneStoriesEarthPastHouseWinningPresidentWhiteMistakeEconomyPolicyRepublicanPlentyOppositionCriticizeWhite HousePresident ObamaBlockedScorched Earth Author:Paul Krugman
