tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post1995562369376629213..comments2024-03-22T06:05:36.544-04:00Comments on Kids Prefer Cheese: Is this what austerity looks like?Mungowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02340064320347875601noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-71128612278361413922012-02-01T16:49:53.721-05:002012-02-01T16:49:53.721-05:00"Can we really run a trillion dollar deficit ..."Can we really run a trillion dollar deficit and bemoan austerity simultaneously?"<br /><br />Yes. The brits are even moaning louder than we are, and they haven't cut spending either, their "austerity" consisted of mostly raising taxes.Doc Merlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615897698740661539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-20466044401114761332012-01-30T22:30:22.695-05:002012-01-30T22:30:22.695-05:00Stimulus + Austerity = An unstoppable force vs. an...Stimulus + Austerity = An unstoppable force vs. an immovable object. <br /><br />On a semi-related note, TV executives would not sign off on programs like these unless there was audience demand for them:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead" rel="nofollow">The Walking Dead</a><br /><br /><a href="http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/doomsday-preppers/" rel="nofollow">Doomsday Preppers</a><br /><br /><a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/colony/" rel="nofollow">The Colony</a>Shawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12282541379548705676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-84129311423528054162012-01-30T18:54:43.599-05:002012-01-30T18:54:43.599-05:00The reason he didn't adjust for inflation is t...The reason he didn't adjust for inflation is that FRED doesn't have inflation-adjusted series available. You would have to download each series, along with the CPI, and deflate it yourself. Likewise with population-adjusted figures, etc.<br /><br />So hit Angus for laziness if you want, but I don't think it was anything sinister. At least he very clearly states that they are nominal values.Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-79284283819944436472012-01-30T18:32:07.398-05:002012-01-30T18:32:07.398-05:00Well… I think the MMT guys would ask your question...Well… I think the MMT guys would ask your question this way: Can you grow and economy without increasing the money supply? Milton Friedman's answer was no.Goyo Marquezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01456183946917461839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-59857579723526584532012-01-30T16:53:09.368-05:002012-01-30T16:53:09.368-05:00How unusual that a libertarian (or conservative) w...How unusual that a libertarian (or conservative) would post absolute numbers as proof of something. No adjustment for inflation, population growth, spending as a percentage of GDP? Typical.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-63084092084568755572012-01-30T15:54:50.653-05:002012-01-30T15:54:50.653-05:00Well, we've had the automatic, safety net, exp...Well, we've had the automatic, safety net, expenditures kick in. Were there an equal-dollar shift from schools to support for families, would that be austerity?john personnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16449440713042469202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-17499655160516822932012-01-30T15:49:26.676-05:002012-01-30T15:49:26.676-05:00Anonymous at 3:28: Adjusting for inflation and pop...Anonymous at 3:28: Adjusting for inflation and population growth still shows steady increases punctuated by very short downward blips. Looking at government spending as a fraction of GDP shows an ever larger increase; the federal government jumped from the ~20% of GDP it had been for most of the post-war period up to ~25% of GDP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-76138242303565319972012-01-30T15:28:43.161-05:002012-01-30T15:28:43.161-05:00Why did you not adjust these figures for inflation...Why did you not adjust these figures for inflation? Other calculations, such as contribution of government spending to real GDP, have shown large decreases in the last decade.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-82185972880760180902012-01-30T12:59:37.254-05:002012-01-30T12:59:37.254-05:00I sincerely believe that the mental model of auste...I sincerely believe that the mental model of austerity has now become "the level of government spending that prevails when NGDP is below trend." In that case, then yes, the $1 trillion deficit would still be emblematic of austerity.wintercow20https://www.blogger.com/profile/17328756985961437367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-50358544210810028452012-01-30T00:34:48.024-05:002012-01-30T00:34:48.024-05:00"Can we really run a trillion dollar deficit ...<i>"Can we really run a trillion dollar deficit and bemoan austerity simultaneously?"</i><br /><br />Of course we can -- as long as no serious economists show up and spoil the party.<br /><br />Remember what the Queen told Alice when she chose not to believe impossible things.<br /><br />Queen: <i>"When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day," the Queen smiled. "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."</i><br /><br />Politicians understand the Queen, the rest of us simply need to keep the faith.<br /><br /><i>"Every time a child says, 'I don't believe in fairies,' there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead."</i><br /><br />-- Peter PanSheetWisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13762534904369877435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-91923616597408556402012-01-29T17:37:18.189-05:002012-01-29T17:37:18.189-05:00I made a graph similar to yours, but (since I coul...I made a graph similar to yours, but (since I couldn't figure out how to turn them into real dollars) put in the CPI and normalized everything to 100 in 2007. You see state expenditures tracking the CPI pretty closely in recent years and federal expenditures exploding, as in your graph.<br /><br />Spending won't come down. Does that mean our only hope is to have very strong GDP growth for many years, combined with "fiscal restraint" sufficient to grow spending a lot slower than GDP?Andrewnoreply@blogger.com