Well, it’s 2024 the year of dragon. Here in the U.S., it’s the year of rate cuts. Or is it recession? Or maybe it’s the year of the soft-landing. Some market participants even think it could be the year of accelerating inflation and, potentially, higher
FADEL: So $34 trillion in debt sounds scary. Should people be afraid?
KELTON: No. They shouldn't. It's the word debt that makes people afraid.
Stephanie is one of my true heroes, but, let's face it, this answer is embarrassing. It's not the debt that scares the shit out of people, it's the $34 trillion! After all, if the "national debt" (a terribly confused notion, as Stephanie points out) were a mere $1, no one would give a shit. I do believe that Stephanie wins this argument, but she/we need a more persuasive way of talking about this issue. My intention is not to take a cheap shot here. And I do intend to address this issue at greater length when I have more time.
I wish you would again speak on the solvency of Social Security and how it can be saved once and for all. It is once again under attack(surprise, surprise) by the right wing who want to raise the cap or the age or do whatever they can to destroy it. You wrote about it in your book and another time on substack and gave advice on what to do to quell these attacks. Please clarify again, in laymen's' terms, for us non-economists how this funding works. I am sick and tired of hearing about its unaffordability and it costing the government so much money. These people will never shut up about our "entitlement" programs. You explained these arguments are misguided and founded in myth. Please explain again. I wish you were on news programs more often to enlighten these morons. Love your work and have underlined 3/4ths of your book. Looking forward to the next.
The FT, like any good capitalist organ, is behind a paywall. Is there any way to see that interview without paying for it?
The NPR interview:
FADEL: So $34 trillion in debt sounds scary. Should people be afraid?
KELTON: No. They shouldn't. It's the word debt that makes people afraid.
Stephanie is one of my true heroes, but, let's face it, this answer is embarrassing. It's not the debt that scares the shit out of people, it's the $34 trillion! After all, if the "national debt" (a terribly confused notion, as Stephanie points out) were a mere $1, no one would give a shit. I do believe that Stephanie wins this argument, but she/we need a more persuasive way of talking about this issue. My intention is not to take a cheap shot here. And I do intend to address this issue at greater length when I have more time.
I wish you would again speak on the solvency of Social Security and how it can be saved once and for all. It is once again under attack(surprise, surprise) by the right wing who want to raise the cap or the age or do whatever they can to destroy it. You wrote about it in your book and another time on substack and gave advice on what to do to quell these attacks. Please clarify again, in laymen's' terms, for us non-economists how this funding works. I am sick and tired of hearing about its unaffordability and it costing the government so much money. These people will never shut up about our "entitlement" programs. You explained these arguments are misguided and founded in myth. Please explain again. I wish you were on news programs more often to enlighten these morons. Love your work and have underlined 3/4ths of your book. Looking forward to the next.