Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Ryan Grim — Bill Clinton At Deficit Summit: 'Paul Krugman Is Right In The Short Run'


Former President Bill Clinton began his appearance at Pete Peterson's annual fiscal summit Tuesday by approvingly invoking the name of the movement's arch ideological enemy.
Paul Krugman, The New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize-winning economist, has been the leading opponent of deficit hysteria and austerity, while Peterson has spent some $500 million since 2007 encouraging deficit reduction.Clinton, interviewed on a keynote panel by MSNBC's Tamron Hall, began by saying he wanted to address "one factual dispute."
"I think everybody in this debate has an obligation to say what they believe," said Clinton. "I think Paul Krugman's right in the short run, and Pete Peterson and Simpson-Bowles and all those guys, everybody's right in the long run. And the question is timing." 
By raising the specter of Krugman, the bane of the deficit-hawk movement, Clinton is sending another signal that the politics of austerity are waning. "It's obvious that if you overdo austerity, you get Europe," he said, noting 12 percent unemployment on the continent.
Clinton's very appearance at the summit, however, testifies to the movement's enduring strength. Clinton was sure to speak out Tuesday against the problem of long-term debt. He warned that if interest rates spiked unexpectedly, the resulting increase in debt costs would "make the sequester look like a Sunday afternoon walk in the park."

The Huffington Post

Bill Clinton At Deficit Summit: 'Paul Krugman Is Right In The Short Run'
Ryan Grim

OK, Clinton is either a moron or subversive of public interest, being in the pocket of the elite. But, to come out in favor of Paul Krugman at a Pete Peterson event is a huge step forward. Count it a win for MMT to the degree it influenced Krugman.
Clinton was sure to speak out Tuesday against the problem of long-term debt. He warned that if interest rates spiked unexpectedly, the resulting increase in debt costs would "make the sequester look like a Sunday afternoon walk in the park."
Now that insolvency has been buried, inflation, interest rates, and the yield curve is the next area that needs to be tackled. This is where the push back is coming from. While Scott Fullwiler dealt with this issue in Interest Rates and Fiscal Sustainability, it needs to be broken down so that non-economists can easily grasp it and repeated widely. There's already a lot of work done on this, for example, the MMT Fiscal Sustainability Teach-In and Counter-Conference.

But apparently word hasn't spread sufficiently yet.

16 comments:

paul meli said...

But Paul Krugman is wrong in the long run…and so is Clinton (and Obama, who is wrong no matter how you slice it).

Let's face it…these morons don't know what the fk they are talking about.

Tom Hickey said...

They are monetarists believing in bond vigilantes, on one hand, and on the other, believing that the central bank has to raise rates "eventually" to counter price inflation or currency depreciation, which will explode the deficit.

Matt Franko said...

"I think Paul Krugman's right in the short run, and Pete Peterson and Simpson-Bowles and all those guys, everybody's right in the long run. And the question is timing."

More "pump priming" from Clinton here....

It continues to look like it has to be all fiscal from here....

rsp,

Roger Erickson said...

The only timing these people are talking and winking about is whatever will get the public to believe THEY should be elected king for a term.

They'll say anything at anytime, all while NOT WANTING TO KNOW if it's true or not.

Sociopaths. You can smell the propaganda from any distance.

In fact, I don't think they even wink. Lying for the moment is ALL they know.

Citizens don't let citizens promote sociopaths to leadership positions. It just doesn't work out.

Clinton: "I know, Paul, but you don't understand. This is politics."

We DO understand, you @#$%^&! nincompoop. We understand that trying to leverage people like you is inherently dangerous, and not worth it.

Matt Franko said...

Clinton: "I know, Paul..."

I submit he doesnt know...

rsp,

Anonymous said...

The problem is that Krugman and Peterson both agree on auterity over the the long term. Clinton may as well just say he agrees with Krugman.

Райчо Марков said...

When MMT supporters spend half of the $500 million the deficit hawks spent, then we might succeed. And I believe the probably spent even more.

Roger Erickson said...

@ Matt Franko 'Clinton: "I know, Paul..." I submit he doesnt know...'

Nope. That's an actual quote from Clinton, talking about Social Security, back ~1998, to his old advisor Robert Eisner. Stephanie Kelton & other MMT folks met Eisner, and have relayed that quote multiple times in MMT blogs.

"Almost everybody talks about budget deficits. Almost everybody seems in principle to be against them. And almost no one, literally, knows what [they are] talking about." Robert Eisner, The Misunderstood Economy, p.90;

http://books.google.com/books?id=jTSddYcGA6gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Robert+Eisner,+The+Misunderstood+Economy&source=bl&ots=nz6wJ-sCnK&sig=6Vli8JdSQLSwlg9K1rVcdnW2SIc&hl=en&ei=KeQxTJ3JBoGclgePgaXACw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Clinton knew, and - in private - ADMITTED he knew.

Also, Mosler talks about getting Al Gore to admit - in private - everything about MMT, but then saying "I can't say that in public."

Plenty of people DO know, and simply DO NOT CARE!!! It's personal politics to them. It's sociopathy, plain and simple.

Roger Erickson said...

Don't think this will change anything.

Even if some fiscal action is allowed, and even if Krugman (or Pete Peterson) admits Warren Mosler exists ... it STILL won't be over.

No more than it was over during the FDR administration. It'll never be over.

We need to get used to thinking in terms of having our culture capture AND HOLD stages of desired outcomes. No particular goal is anything more than a waystation on the way forward as well as backwards. Pyrrhic victories are irrelevant.

Getting 5 stages past some circumscribed goal, so it's forgotten or taken for granted ... that's a desired outcome.

When no one remembers, or cares, who Clinton, Krugman or Peterson were ... that'll be success.

Unknown said...

Don't be fooled. Krugman and Clinton know very well our deficits are not in any sense unsustainable, but the moment they admit that Clinton loses his influence with the VSP and Krugman loses his gig at the New York Times and the cash from his textbook sales.

All Clinton's words do is confirm who is really in charge of this country.

Tom Hickey said...

The problem is basic. It's called CAPITALISM which seek to obtain the cheapest resources, especially energy and labor, since they can raid the commons for other resources.

Until the fundamental economic paradigm shifts, there is no permanent solutions. They'll aways be back doing their utmost to recapture any ground they lose. It's built into the system.

Roger Erickson said...

"Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act." Albert Einstein

Ya think?

Roger Erickson said...

And those who know about knowers-who-don't-act (frauds), have the duty NOT be complicit in the fraud.

It's a "be or do" moment - every day.
http://dnipogo.org/john-r-boyd/to-be-or-to-do/

Unknown said...

Tom,

that fiscal sustainability teach-in site is a great resource. That's the first time I've looked at it.

Maybe you should add it to the list of main links on the left hand side of the blog page.

Tom Hickey said...

@ Y

Done.

Райчо Марков said...

"Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act." Albert Einstein

That's a good one, Roger, thanks.