Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Biden and allies have achieved more in 2 months of unified control than Rs under Trump did in 2 years. They sold their soul and all they got was a lousy corporate tax cut, most of which probably won't survive 2/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

This is a terrific piece excerpted from a terrific book. Very much agree that Rs failed to repeal the ACA because they lacked seriousness of purpose. They failed to block American Rescue Plan for the same reason 1/ https://t.co/5Lmnd28rnz — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Still, when I read Leigh Bardugo's novel about how Yale's secret societies are actually devoted to black magic, it seemed plausible 3/ https://t.co/2KVHX6T0hR — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Which is not to deny that even being a nerd at the Ivy League was hugely advantageous. In my own case, it meant having a direct pipeline into the economics old-boy (and I do mean boy) network centered at the time on MIT. So yes, I do consider my privilege 2/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

I went to Yale in the 1970s, and it was obvious that there were effectively two schools: the one where children of the elite were invited to join secret societies, and one where nerds got to be nerds 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

A one-time price blip as the economy booms and supply chains struggle to keep up won't do it. 9/ https://t.co/S7GYGDIi6a — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

But you don't get stagflation unless price-setters who *don't* change prices very often — including employers setting annual salaries — begin building expectations of inflation into their pricing 8/ https://t.co/1iMXZWocjv — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

It's easy to see how we could have an inflation blip in the months ahead, including for some unusual reasons: the lingering effects of the pandemic have disrupted supply chains 7/ https://t.co/OuSF2ZBm8x — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

But the Fed argued that this was a blip, driven by temporary factors, and refused to tighten policy. This was the right call — in contrast to the ECB, which gave in to inflation panic 6/ https://t.co/arJFJkFNEU) — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Republicans like Paul Ryan raked Ben Bernanke over the coals, intoning about the dangers of a debased dollar 5/ https://t.co/zqEyy93uu1 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

And commodity prices were rising at an annual rate of almost 40% 4/ https://t.co/FTCsmQkKZ7 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Producer prices — basically wholesale prices — were rising at a double-digit clip 3/ https://t.co/1bwYYR8RQt — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

My sense is that this episode has been widely forgotten, but it's very relevant. Here's what happened: as the economy began to recover from the 2007-9 recession, headline inflation picked up to almost 4% 2/ https://t.co/gldWlbQ8TN — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Now that the big Biden package has been enacted, we're hearing warnings from some economists — well, one economist — about stagflation. As always, history is extremely useful in thinking about such things; and I've been reviewing the great inflation panic of 2010-11 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Apocalypse is always possible, but probably not now. The markets don't expect it; private forecasters don't expect it; of course, they could all be wrong, and so could I. But now we just wait and see 2/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Thread. Quite close to my own thoughts. If this were just about stimulus, it's a lot bigger than needed. But it isn't, which is why multipliers are probably low and that's OK. Overheating quite possible; stagflation, ie sustained inflation hard to reverse, unlikely 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

So defending the British monarchy isn't really a departure. Actually, I'd like to see a poll on how many Rs like the idea of a Trump dynasty. Probably quite a few 4/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

And we started to see books praising nepotism 3/ https://t.co/EP9AgnCdaL — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

It was already obvious in the Bush years 2/ https://t.co/DFXeAELKsO — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Defense of inherited privilege, of all kinds, is the logical consequence of where U.S. conservatism has been heading for a long time. That's what estate-tax repeal is all about! 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

The important point is that none of this will indicate a return to 70s-type stagflation. It will all be a blip reflecting an economic surge plus some lingering Covid-related disruptions. I'm sure the Fed understands that. But be prepared for another inflation panic 8/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Lumber is also spiking 7/ https://t.co/PFeCRoYpqP — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Domestic shipping costs are rising, probably part of the same story 6/ https://t.co/r8MoLEDHdo — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

This time around it seems quite likely that we'll see a temporary spike in headline inflation — not just from food and energy but from various supply bottlenecks. A container shortage is driving up shipping costs 5/ https://t.co/EMRjMongSq — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

While core is usually defined by excluding volatile food and energy prices, the underlying logic is that you're trying to measure inflation inertia, which comes from embedded expectations of future inflation 4/ https://t.co/1iMXZWocjv — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

The Fed, however, stood its ground, because there was no surge in core inflation, which it (correctly) considered a much better guide to policy 3/ https://t.co/3IFNjmsVHw — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

For a brief moment after the GOP took over the House, Rs went all in on accusing Ben Bernanke of debasing the dollar, basically because of a surge in commodity prices 2/ https://t.co/zqEyy93uu1 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

A friend recently reminded me of this classic case of inflationista scare tactics during the Obama years; what we should have been getting ready for was unjustified inflation panic 1/ https://t.co/84mBzQIlg4 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @nytopinion: . @PaulKrugman responded to readers commenting on his column "Vaccines: A Very European Disaster." Read their exchanges her… — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Actually may be relevant to Catherine Rampell's point here: Rs want to kill infrastructure by tying it to taxes. But both infrastructure *and* higher taxes on the wealthy are popular! 3/ https://t.co/khDTILvqGA — PolitiTweet.org