Saturday, October 27, 2012

Krugman and Stiglitz: Crazy Austerity Policies Inflict Untold Damage on Economy

By Lynn Stuart Parramore

October 24, 2012  |  Though there wasn't too much talk of specific politicians last night, the election certainly hung in air as the two most cited economists in the world met on stage in New York City to discuss where the economy is headed.

The event was hosted by the Institute for New Economic Thinking [3] (INET), Shakespeare & Company Booksellers, and the Fashion Institute of Technology, which, as president Joyce F. Brown reminded the audience, is a premier public institution that has suffered from budget cuts in a shaky economy. She stressed that she worries each day about the economic conditions students will face when they graduate.

Robert Johnson, Executive Director of INET, served as moderator, and kicked off the evening praising Krguman and Stiglitz as his nominees should the prize of Most Courageous Economist ever be offerred. Johnson himself is an economist who has not shied away from tough criticism of the field and policies that hurt the 99 percent. (Stiglitz and Johnson were both contributers to the AlterNet book I co-edited, The 99%: How the Occupy Movement is Changing America [4]).
 

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