Coming Up This Week (Nov 15)
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I hope you’re enjoying the weekend. We’re wrapping up a home-improvement project (bathroom remodel) and assembling a basketball hoop. And by “we,” I mean contractors, spouse and kids. I did walk the dog at noon, so I’m doing my part.
Looking ahead, I’m going to write more about inflation this week. I’ve seen a few questions about whether we should be cutting spending or raising taxes to bring down inflation, and I want to address this explicitly.
I’m also going to be talking about inflation, supply-chains, budget reconciliation, and The Deficit Myth throughout the week. On Monday evening, I’ll join three friends to talk about the economic recovery, inflation, why it’s vital to keep moving forward with an agenda that invests in kids, care, and climate. You can register for the event and listen live.
The following day, I’m sitting down for an interview with NowThis. If you’re not familiar, NowThis is the most-watched video news outlet on social media worldwide, averaging about 2 billion views monthly. They produce great content, breaking down important issues into easily digestible videos. We’ll be focusing on inflation, supply-chains, and the Build Back Better agenda.
On Thursday, I’m joining Alyssa Milano to talk about my book (and more) on her podcast, Sorry, Not Sorry. I’m not sure when the episode will air (we’re pre-recording), but I’ll be back with an update when it’s available.
Now I’ve got to run to Lowe’s because the contractor just informed me that he forgot to order the faucet I picked out two weeks ago. 🙃
"..whether we should be cutting spending or raising taxes to bring down inflation..." When did inflation get such a bad name? It surely beats the alternative. Imagine if we had DEFLATION. Why would anyone buy a new car, for example, if they thought its cost would go DOWN by $1,000 next month? Production would grind to a halt and the economy would implode. Moderate inflation doesn't scare most economists. It's deflation that gives them the heebie-geebies.
And what would be the point of raising taxes? If you raise it on the rich, it would reduce their political power. But it won't do anything to reduce inflation, since the wealthy already have purchased all the necessities of life that the rest of us buy on a daily basis. And tax the un-wealthy? Why on earth would you want to take away money from the very people you just gave financial support to in order to ride out the pandemic?
And, of course, we need to consider if this recent rise in prices is really inflation, per se, or simply a one time--albeit painful--blip to the pandemic.
What we need are short term PRICE controls (not wage controls) with the gov't reimbursing companies for any provable losses they might suffer. The gov't should order the price of gasoline and bacon, for example, to be returned to their pre-covid costs, and then make up the difference to these vendors. This could go on for 6 months or a year until the economy and supply chains stabilize. It is astonishing that no one has suggested this. All it takes is money. It might add a couple hundred billion to the deficit, but who cares? And by that I mean, the deficit hawks need to explain why that would be such a bad thing.
Dr Kelton Loved your book. Would like to discuss with you pursuing a PHD in MMT...I am 64 retired from commercial real estate NYC MBA 81 Emory Univ Fin Acct Quant Methods 98 Exec MBA Cert in Value Investing Columbia Univ...