Thought for the Day: 23 January 2015

Joe Stiglitz, The Politics of Economic Stupidity:

[L]ow interest rates will not motivate firms to invest if there is no demand for their products. Nor will low rates inspire individuals to borrow to consume if they are anxious about their future (which they should be)…. Demand is what the world needs most. The private sector – even with the generous support of monetary authorities – will not supply it. But fiscal policy can. We have an ample choice of public investments that would yield high returns – far higher than the real cost of capital – and that would strengthen the balance sheets of the countries undertaking them.

The big problem facing the world in 2015 is not economic. We know how to escape our current malaise. The problem is our stupid politics.

Weekly Digest – January 27, 2013

Must See TV

Poor or Spent?  HuffPost Live forum

This is a panel discussion on financial (il)literacy and the challenges that people face trying to become (or to remain) gainfully employed in today’s economy.  I can’t recall seeing a better panel discussion.  It was great.  No blathering denzens of the Beltway – no “sabbathday gasbags”, as Calvin Trillin used to call them.  Instead, here are four smart, thoughtful people bringing different perspectives to an important subject.  If you only watch a half hour of TV/internet this week, make it this.  (FWIW, my wife’s friend Taifa is one of the panelists.  That’s how I heard about it.)

Economic Inequality and Its Consequences

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