SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK,
THE DEFICIT MYTHS.
GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US
TONIGHT.
YOU LAY IT OUT, CAN’T GIVE IT
JUSTICE TALKING ABOUT THE THINGS YOU HAVE WRITTEN.
YOU HAVE WRITTEN.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE PLAN.
THEY WILL START TO GET THE
ENGINE OF THE ECONOMY GOES
AGAIN.
BEFORE THE RECESSION, 3%
UNEMPLOYMENT, NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE
IN THE COMPANY.
EVERYONE SUPER PRODUCTIVE.
WHAT THEN?
>> YEAH, THAT’S THE QUESTION, SO
THE CONSTRAINTS ARE VERY
DIFFERENT WHEN YOU ARE OPERATING
IN A DEPRESSED ECONOMY.
WHEN AS YOU HAVE SAID, YOU HAVE
LOTS OF IDOL CAPACITY, YOU HAVE
UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE, AND
BUSINESSES THAT ARE DESPERATE
FOR ORDERS.
THEY WANT TO PRODUCE MORE, THEY
ARE CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING MORE.
THAT SAN ECONOMY IN TO WHICH THE
GOVERNMENT CAN SAFELY SPEND A
WHOLE LOT OF MONEY AND THE
ECONOMY WILL ABSORB THAT
SPENDING WITH OUT PRODUCING
INFLATIONARY PROBLEM SAS THE
ECONOMY GETS CLOSER TO
EMPLOYMENT, YOU HIT CAPACITY
CONSTRAINTS
CONSTRAINTS, YOU RUN OUT OF
WORKERS AND BUSINESSES HAVE
PROBLEMS FILLING ON ORDERS AND
THEN IT BECOMES MUCH MORE
IMPORTANT TO BE VERY CAREFUL
ABOUT HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL
SPENDING YOU ARE TRYING TO FORCE
IN TO THE ECONOMY.
BECAUSE INFLATIONARY PRESSURES
ARE GOING TO BE A PROBLEM.
AND SO, REALLY THE CHALLENGE FOR
DEMOCRATS IS TO TRY TO CALIBRATE
THINGS AND FIGURE OUT WHERE ARE
WE GOING TO BE AT THE TIME THEY
WANT TO ROLL OUT AMBITIOUS
INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE AND MY
FEELING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I
THINK THAT CONGRESS WOMAN
OCASIO-CORTEZ HAS THIS RIGHT.
I THINK THAT $2 TRILLION IS NOT
ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH THE VARIOUS
CHALLENGES, AND PROBLEMS THAT WE
FACE IN THE ECONOMY.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE DEMOCRATS GO
MUCH BIGGER.
BUT RECOGNIZING THAT YOU HAVE TO
BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU MANAGE
THE SO-CALLED PAY FORCE .
HOW DO YOU OFF-SET SPENDING IN
AN ECONOMY THAT IS MOVING CLOSER
TO FULL EMPLOYMENT.
>> AND YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT
THAT BEING BROADER POLICY
INITIATIVES.
IN OTHER WORDS, THINKING OF
IMMIGRATION, THINKING ABOUT
TRADE POLICY.
NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS IS
HOW MUCH THIS WILL COST, SO HAD
THIS IS HOW MUCH WE OFF-SET IT
WITH TAX INCREASES, CARRIER
SAYING WHAT IS THE ENTIRE
STRUCTURE LOOKING LIKE THAT
SUPPORTS A BIGGER INFRASTRUCTURE
PROGRAM THAT MAKES MOVING AROUND
AND COMMUNICATING AND LIVING AND
WORKING IN AMERICA BETTER.
>> EXACTLY.
SO, THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS TO
MANAGE AN AMBITIOUS SPENDING
PROGRAM.
WE HAVE DONE IT HISTORICALLY,
ALI, WE CAN DID IT IN WORLD WAR
II.
WE HAVE WITH DONE BIG AMBITIOUS
THINGS BEFORE AND WE HAVE PAID
ATTENTION TO THE INFLATION RISK
AND YOU AND I MENTIONED IN THE
PIECE, IMMIGRATION POLICY AND
OTHER SORTS OF INDUSTRIAL
POLICIES TO BUILD OUT OUR
PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY.
SO THAT WHEN WE ARE RUNNING OUT
OF PEOPLE.
WHEN WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF
CAPACITY, THERE’S WAYS TO PULL A
RELEASE VALVE, TO RELEASE THE
PRESSURE SO WE DON’T GET
MOUNTING INFLATION BUT WE ARE
STILL ABLE TO CONTINUE WITH THAT
AMBITIOUS SPENDING AND THE
ECONOMY.
>> LOTS OF REASONABLE PEOPLE
HAVE GROWN UP BELIEVING THAT
DEFICITS ARE BAD, IF YOU SPEND,
COMPARED TO A HOUSEHOLD, YOU
SPEND MORE THAN YOU TAKE IN IS
BAD.
DEFICITS BECOME DEBT, AND DEBT
BECOMES INFLATIONARY AND IT’S
ALL BAD FOR THE ECONOMY.
IN AS SIMPLE IS TERMS AS YOU CAN
VIEW IT, YOU DO NOT VIEW IT THAT
WAY AND YOU FEEL THAT PEOPLE
NEED TO UPDATE THEIR VIEW OF
DEBT AND INFLATION?
>> I SURE DO.
EVERY DEBT IS GOOD FOR SOMEONE.
THAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE.
THE DEFICIT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF
TWO NUMBERS.
IT’S THELITERALLY WHAT IT IS.
IT’S HOW MUCH THE GOVERNMENT
SPENDS IN TO THE ECONOMY AND HOW
MUCH IT SUBTRACTS BACK OUT ON
MOSTLY THROUGH TAXATION.
WE HEAR THE WORD DEFICIT AND
IT’S A LOADED AND CHARGED WORD
AND PEOPLE THINK THAT IT IMPLIES
THAT SOMETHING HAS GONE WRONG,
THAT’S NOT THE CASE.
A GOVERNMENT DEAF -- A
GOVERNMENT DEFICIT IS NET
SPENDING.
IT MEANS GOVERNMENT IS MAKING A
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO SOME
OTHER PART OF OUR ECONOMY.
THEIR DEFICIT BECOMES OUR
FINANCIAL SURPLUS.
THE QUESTION IS, FOR WHOM?
RIGHT?
THE REPUBLICANS DID HUGE TAX
CUTS IN DECEMBER OF 2017.
THOSE TAX CUTS PRODUCED A
WINDFALL, A FINANCIAL SURPLUS
FOR OTHERS IN THE ECONOMY.
THEY DON’T WANT TO DO DEFICIT
SPENDING NOW WITH COVID RELIEF
AND IT WILL SERVE A DIFFERENT