Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

In fact, given the scale of the shift from austerity to stimulus, it's surprising that the Trump economy wasn't stronger. It may have been held back by trade-war uncertainty, and/or poorly targeted stimulus 4/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Basically, after Rs took the House in 2010, they forced austerity on the Obama administration, delaying recovery. Then they cheerfully presided over both tax cuts and spending increases under Trump 3/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Annual fiscal impulse is the change in CBO's estimate of the cyclically adjusted budget balance; it's a rough measure of stimulus, but good enough to make the point 2/ https://t.co/H45kcOmdYz — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

As Republicans go around claiming that the Biden agenda is job-destroying and whine about deficits, worth remembering that Trump policy was, in effect ... Keynesian. Here's a key picture, explained below 1/ https://t.co/2EJKzUJL3F — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Double zombie alert: an undead administration using its final days to push an undead economic doctrine — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

They should own up to that colossal error of judgment, or it will happen again 4/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

So claiming that the push for austerity was based on advice from economists, who have since changed their minds, is an evasion of responsibility. VSPs, including the FT, chose to ignore the mainstream and go with the economic equivalents of Scott Atlas 3/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

To the extent that the Very Serious People relied on economists at all, they cited ideas about expansionary austerity and red lines for debt that were actually heterodox — and have since been discredited 2/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Thread. The rush to austerity in 2010 was NOT policymakers responding to the best available analysis. Standard macroeconomics said that it was a terrible idea; people like Simon and, yes, me tried desperately to head it off 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @samstein: I’m deadly serious about this, if Jenna Ryan was your realtor i want to hear from you. PLEASE. DMs open https://t.co/PjUk0Q… — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

It's now the GOSP: the Grand Old Sociopathic Party — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

No, no, it will be released during infrastructure week — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Lots of depressing thing out there, but this one is special. A media org looks at a violent attack on Congress and thinks, "Hey, let's be counterintuitive and give a platform to a prominent apologist for extremism." We may be doomed https://t.co/kf1PgsN8x3 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

The idea that debt is a serious threat may seem hard-headed and, yes, Very Serious, but it's just a prejudice at odds with the facts fin/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

So snowballization(TM) — I'm putting dibs on the term — has very rarely been an issue over the past 20 years, which Olivier Blanchard documented in much greater detail 6/ https://t.co/7Nh6WPmxkg — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

r is the rate of interest on government debt; g the economy's growth rate. You can do either both nominal or real. Let's do nominal, and use CBO's estimate of potential GDP to smooth out business cycles 5/ https://t.co/bgLGnL6xFq — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

But that understates just how sustainable debt is. We don't care about the absolute level of debt; if we worry at all, we worry about the ratio of debt to GDP. And this does the opposite of snowballing — it shrinks, other things equal — if r<g. What? 4/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

One reason is that the real value of debt is eroded by inflation. Real interest rates are currently negative, and overall real interest payments, as Furman and Summers point out, are at historic lows 3/ https://t.co/ooqy1WExMl https://t.co/8gN3WjKm87 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

This happens to individuals and businesses! And it could in principle happen to the U.S. government. But the arithmetic is all wrong — so wrong that even if borrowing costs rise in the future it's just not likely to be an issue 2/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Gonna do a brief (?) wonkish thread on debt sustainability, and why we shouldn't worry about it. Start with the reason many people think it's terrible: they imagine that debt snowballs, because the more debt you have the higher your interest payments, so you run up even more 1/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

One striking thing is how many readers are still sure that we're facing a debt disaster and/or runaway inflation. The modern fiscal consensus is going to be a hard sell despite overwhelming evidence. — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @nytopinion: .@paulkrugman responded to readers who commented on his column, "Four Rules That Should Guide Bidenomics." Read their excha… — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Also Dems gained a huge amount in the 1974, post-Watergate midterms; arguably in part bc of the scandal — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

RT @JerylBier: Someone's tweets don't tell the whole story, but from what I can find, the last time @hughhewitt mentioned the national debt… — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

The mystery now — aside from why no precautions were taken — is why they didn't succeed. Incompetence? Lost their nerve? Or were we just incredibly lucky? — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

And think about how remarkable it is that Moore is still the right's economic go-to guy. Can't they at least get a hack who can copy numbers correctly? 2/ https://t.co/hCnte39Eer — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

An additional data point in favor of Biden's plan: Stephen Moore thinks it will destroy millions of jobs. Given Moore's track record, that's practically an endorsement 1/ https://t.co/A9i54K7wS5 — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

It's really good to see Biden going big. This is a situation in which caution would be the riskiest thing he could do 2/ — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Neither defunct ideology, nor bogus economic concerns, nor the vain hope of comity should be allowed to stand in the way of delivering the policies America needs 1/ https://t.co/tWt0uHEq6r — PolitiTweet.org

Paul Krugman @paulkrugman

Is somebody keeping tabs on the silverware? — PolitiTweet.org