Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth.
Paul KrugmanRead
The great thing about fiscal policy is that it has a direct impact and doesn't require you to bind the hands of future policymakers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fiscal policy can be effectively altered to influence the economy without constraining future policies.
In this quote, Paul Krugman highlights the flexibility of fiscal policy in making immediate economic changes. Unlike policies that create rigid frameworks for future decision-making, fiscal policy can be adjusted by current leaders to address economic issues directly, allowing for adaptive governance in response to changing circumstances.
Themes
Fiscal PolicyEconomyPolicy FlexibilityEconomic ImpactGovernmentAdaptation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a presentation discussing the effectiveness of current fiscal policies in the economy.
More from Paul Krugman
All quotes →Our popular economics writers, however, are not in the business of giving their readers a ringside seat on the research action; with no exception I can think of, they use their books to do an end run around the normal structure of scholarship, to preach ideas that few serious economists share. Often, these ideas are not just at odds with the professional consensus; they are demonstrably wrong, and sometimes terminally silly. But they sound good to the unwary reader.
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The raw fact is that every successful example of economic development this past century ... has taken place via globalization.
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Wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged the system is.
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It’s not about the budget; it’s about the power...So will the attack on unions succeed? I don’t know. But anyone who cares about retaining government of the people by the people should hope that it doesn’t.
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The economics profession went astray because economists, as a group, mistook beauty, clad in impressive-looking mathematics, for truth.
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