Community | January 20, 2010 | 25 comments

'We're More Strict With Our Poor Than With Our Banks'

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Willowguy
HuffPost Interviews Joseph Stiglitz: January 20, 2010

During the economic turmoil of the last few years, Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz has been one of the most strident and incisive critics of the historic bailout of the banking sector.

Never one to mince words, Stiglitz, who served as the Chief Economist at the World Bank and on President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers, has said the meltdown has resulted in a kind of "ersatz capitalism" in America. He has also repeatedly called for a second round of fiscal stimulus to support struggling Americans.

We recently sat down with Professor Stiglitz to discuss his new book "Freefall: America, Free Markets And The Sinking of The World Economy", and how the Obama administration should go about reshaping our economy.

With so much talk of a recovery, where is our economy right now?

The way I put it is that, if you look back before the crisis, the American economy was basically supported by a housing bubble, which supported a consumption boom. In one year, we had $950 billion in mortgage equity withdrawals. That got reflected in the statistics and our savings rate went to zero.

The implication is that post-crisis, even if we have our banking system work, it is not likely that we will go back to a zero savings rate in the U.S. If we don't go back to a zero savings rate, it's going to be hard to have a robust recovery unless you find something else to fill in the gap.


quilt patch from The Great American Energy Quilt Project 2010
Coalwar.com
  1. groups:
    Community,   Green Business,   Sustainable Energy,   Eco Art
  2. tags:
    Economics,  Sustainable Agriculture,  Banking,  Social Justice
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25 comments // 'We're More Strict With Our Poor Than With Our Banks'

  • hunzedog
  • Willowguy
    • 0
      Willowguy  

    • "You know, It's people like you what cause unrest." - John Cleese

      Apparently your natural gas bill didn't triple after Katrina. Are you one of those we should be thanking for our generous supply of "cheap" natural gas. Are you one of those people using energy to leverage every last available cent from the American public, one of those flick a switch, convenient store republicans who feels like he's paid his share and every dime he spends in the economy is welfare for the rest of us.
      The age of the destructive practice of environmental rape for convenience and profit is coming to an end. Wealth profiteering based on feedstock monopolies will give way to sensible design and appropriate technology and we'll not have to rob you: we'll simply antiquate your business model and leave you standing in the street mouth agape wondering where the trolley went and why you didn't catch it.
      Lead, follow or get out of the way.

    • 2 years ago
  • courage
    • 0
      courage  

    • we have the worlds biggest supply of natural gas we could call the Climate Change hoax over with and free up our resources so that we can sell them like russia and china do wham more money for Obama's deficet.

    • 2 years ago
  • courage
    • 0
      courage  

    • After you on the left destroy every rich person and punish every one who strives to achieve anything who will you rob to give to the poor?

    • 2 years ago
  • HowdyDo
    • 0
      HowdyDo  
    • courage:

      No one is trying to "destroy every rich person and punish every one who strives to achieve anything." All we are asking is that the people who are in a position to make lots of money keep the American public in mind before they destroy the entire economy to line their pockets! We're asking all of the Geithners out there to NOT counsel the AIG's out there to pay 100 cents on the dollar to all of the big banks who bet AGAINST the crappy investments they talked their clients in to. We are asking our Congress NOT to bail out failing businesses that almost sunk the WORLD economy, or if they do, to think ahead and make sure they use that bail-out money properly by lending it instead of using it on their books to justify outrageous bonuses and to pay for a new private jet, jaunts to a resort or for hookers. We are asking them to give just 10% of their tax-payer funded bonuses to Haiti because they are in a better position to afford it than the rest of us schmucks (yes, I donated, even though I am barely making it - so can they). And yes, we are asking them NOT to piss away our money so that they can come back and ask us for more. And we are asking Congress to enact laws so that these big businesses who are "too big to fail" can't use that excuse anymore.

    • 2 years ago
  • Willowguy
    • 0
      Willowguy  
    • courage:

      and health care...can we get some health care for our trillion dollar loan? SBA? Energy???How about agriculture? And yet the coal companies flaunt their wealth by offering $7million dollars to University of Kentucky to use the word coal to deface the name of an otherwise untarnished university while simultaneously receiving billions in low interest federal loans. It's an obscenity to spend money on dribble while the people of Appalachia face an insecure future. It's an obscenity to blow the tops off of mountains and rip the heart out of Gods green earth while 200,000 die in Haiti because of 200+ years of environmental plunder and stupid social policy. Won't somebody tweet "Eat the rich!" if you feel like their a little behind in the conversation.

    • 2 years ago
  • Willowguy
    • 0
      Willowguy  

    • Produce Energy and sell it to pay for health care with extra environmental benefit. If every decision we made about finance and money were guided by the governing principles of natural capitalism communities would begin doing things like creating local energy systems to fund social programs. Willow trees grown for electricity and heat at a local school create oxygen in the process of creating revenue in the process of strengthening education. A greenhouse classroom heated by the same system adds fresh vegetables to school lunches at a reduced price while providing a much needed practical classroom. By concentrating finance on local energy production local economies are stimulated and simultaneously fortified against the pressure of increasing and variable energy costs.

      I bet that with enough willow you could fix a six foot hull breach and have enough left over to fuel a nice sterling steam turbine to get you to the next port.

    • 2 years ago
  • QuestionGeek
    • 0
      QuestionGeek  

    • In order to fight this one of the best things anyone can do is cut up all their credit cards and start living more communal. The community "Dancing Rabbit" is on to something

    • 2 years ago
  • ebin_lee
  • HowdyDo
    • 0
      HowdyDo  

    • I've seen it in all levels of government - our elected officials get duped into believing that the only way to help their constituents is to attract big business (bow down & role out the red carpet) and big business knows it. When are they going to pull their heads out and realize big business is AMORAL - like a dog that can eat itself to death - as is unfettered big business

    • 2 years ago
  • VoyagerFilms
    • 0
      VoyagerFilms  

    • Money and corruption have created a very very unfair playing field in favor of big business, corporations at the expense of the rest of us. This is what Obama needs to address "for the people".

      The notion that for America to be strong corporations must be unGodly profitable for shareholders is absolutely wrong.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ricardo_Torres
  • rubensdiman
    • 0
      rubensdiman  

    • When "shit happens" with the economy, the BANK 's are saved with our money so they would leech out more from us after the economy gets back from the toilette . Now pool down your pants and bent down and OBEY!!!

    • 2 years ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • keithponder
  • juicie
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • Obama is supposed to "reshape" our economy? LOL. Just supporting Congress' stimulus package, totaling less than 5% of our annual GNP (the biggest portion of which was tax cuts), made Obama a pariah among most Republicans and a not insignificant percentage of everybody else. And gee, do you think he might have to consult with Congress to do this "reshaping" or can he do it by royal decree the way Georgie would have tried to do it?

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
  • Sw3rv
    • 0
      Sw3rv  

    • and no one is being held accountable and yet the media continues to distract and deffer the publics attention....and push this fear campaign... no wonder there getting away with murder...most of the public are zombies....how the hell are we about to be in a freaking depression yet i gotta have the newest smart phone gadget costing half a grand? lol

    • 2 years ago
  • DJMatt2
  • Animal_Chin
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  

    • There's a six foot hull breach in the American economy and we have nothing to fill it with.

      It looks like this might get even worse.

    • 2 years ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • bansheewail
    • 0
      bansheewail  

    • I wish it was easy to get a small business loan as it was to get a MASSIVE, systemic, tax payer funded, no-doc, stated, secretive, Wall Street bailout.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
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