Economic Stimulus 101 – Part 2
Posted March 12, 2009
“I don’t think we’re yet in as severe a circumstance but the basic structural similarity is there.”
⊕ Launch video
“What’s different about our circumstances today? There’s more surplus capital; we have more social safety nets.”
⊕ Launch video
Keynes theorized in the 1930s about why markets don’t correct themselves, and today’s policies are based off those theories.
⊕ Launch video
“The money [today] is going to be more productively used than… through military Keynesianism.”
⊕ Launch video
“Even though the stimulus package looks very big, it is actually in historical perspective not all that big.”
⊕ Launch video
An increase in inequality and decrease in income mobility made the U.S. economy “more dynastic than dynamic.”
⊕ Launch video
“I think [rising inequality] is a real problem for our economy and may have contributed to the shortfall of demand.”
⊕ Launch video
“Over the last 40 years, productivity has continued to increase [while] real wages have been stagnant since 1975.”
⊕ Launch video
“Instead of paying taxes, [the rich] buy government bonds and then get paid interest on those bonds.”
⊕ Launch video
Can we spend our way out of a bad economy? Explore the costs, benefits and impacts.
$700
billion
Total value of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act signed into law by President Bush on Oct. 3, 2008.
National Debt
The U.S. national debt surged past $10.9 trillion in March. What are the consequences?
The U.S. national debt surged past $10.9 trillion in March. What are the consequences?
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Historical Parallels
In what ways are the current economic crisis similar to and different from the Great Depression?
“I don’t think we’re yet in as severe a circumstance but the basic structural similarity is there.”
⊕ Launch video
“What’s different about our circumstances today? There’s more surplus capital; we have more social safety nets.”
⊕ Launch video
The background of Keynesian macroeconomic theory:
Keynes theorized in the 1930s about why markets don’t correct themselves, and today’s policies are based off those theories.
⊕ Launch video
“The money [today] is going to be more productively used than… through military Keynesianism.”
⊕ Launch video
How does the current stimulus plan stack up against historical precedents?
“Even though the stimulus package looks very big, it is actually in historical perspective not all that big.”
⊕ Launch video
Underlying Problems
Professors weigh in on various deeper causes of the economic crisis:
An increase in inequality and decrease in income mobility made the U.S. economy “more dynastic than dynamic.”
⊕ Launch video
“I think [rising inequality] is a real problem for our economy and may have contributed to the shortfall of demand.”
⊕ Launch video
“Over the last 40 years, productivity has continued to increase [while] real wages have been stagnant since 1975.”
⊕ Launch video
“Instead of paying taxes, [the rich] buy government bonds and then get paid interest on those bonds.”
⊕ Launch video
Produced by Jackie Hai, Richard Caesar and Frank Godinho, AmherstWire.com.
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