US heading for Greek-style debt trap warns professor
Posted on 07 February 2012 with 1 comment from readers
John Taylor, economics professor at Stanford University, spoke to Bloomberg Television’s Trish Regan and said that the US ‘could get into a situation like Greece, quite frankly.’
Taylor went on to say, ‘People have to realize it is a precarious situation. The debt is going to explode if we don’t make some changes.’
Taylor on the U.S. economy:
‘We have to get away from all these temporary things–rebates, monetary policy, quantitative easings, we have to get back to a strategy like we had in the 1980s–monetary policy and fiscal policy. I believe that will get the strong growth.
‘The growth in the early 80s was 5.9 per cent compared to 2.4 per cent we’ve had in this recovery. There is a lot of evidence that that kind of policy works. Steady as you go, getting the tax rates down and keeping it there, not doing all of these temporary stimulations.
‘We could get into a situation like Greece, quite frankly. People have to realize it is a precarious situation. The debt is going to explode if we don’t make some changes. What seems to be more important is that people can get back on track, the country can get back on track, with just some sensible adjustments.
‘I argue just bring spending back to where it was in 2007. That’s not so long ago. We’ve had an enormous spending binge in the last few years. If we undo that binge, shouldn’t be that hard, we can get back to some sensible pro-growth policies.’
On whether the Fed’s zero interest rate policy is helping to contribute to the deficit:
‘I think it’s contributing to the slow recovery because the Fed has bought so much of the debt that people don’t know how they’re going to undo that. They pledged to have interest rates at zero until 2014, but people are saying how can they possibly do that when the economy picks up.
‘This uncertainty had lead people to sit on all this cash. I think if the Fed gets back to the policy that worked pretty well in the ’80s and ’90s, we would be in much better shape.’
On Greece:
‘A walk away would be a default. Nobody wants to do it at this point. The best thing is for the creditors to do as much as they can in conjunction with the Germans and the IMF is there too – to get a deal for Greece so that Greece can grow.
‘Some of these GNP ideas are good, and that way, we get this behind us. They have been kicking the can down the road for years. That’s a problem.’
On whether credit holders are being unrealistic:
‘It’s a bargaining. Each side will try to get the best they can. The creditors are arguing that there is going to be contagion. If they don’t do a better deal, the Greeks will argue and say hey, we’re flat on our back, we have to get some growth. I
‘I think the Greeks have an issue here – if they can put in some good economic growth plans that get the economy moving and write down the debt even further. I think that that is the answer to this. It’s really how Europe can get back on a growth track.’
1 Comment posted by readers:
Lowering taxes MORE? I know these professors are ripping the US public off as evidenced by the tremendous inflation of the cost of higher education, FAR above the rate of inflation, except in Zimbabwe, but I think letting people who will never again have to work a day in their lives, like the entire Romney family, pay even lower taxes than 15%, will EXPLODE the US national debt. These overpaid professors must have a lot of cash to invest. (All that tuition money is going somewhere.) Someone has to pay taxes to run the government. I could go on for pages on the fantasy world this professor is now living in, but I would be wasting my time. I need to get some exercise painting.
Bernanke’s strategy of forcing money into stocks by saying that interest rates will stay low forever is SURE working. The Dow will hit 13k in a few days. My 13,500 prediction for year end is looking way too conservative, especially with the ECB also cranking out a couple of trillion euros. The Dow could hit 14,500 with all this money creation.
Now when it comes to Trish Regan, I agree with ANYTHING she says. I can remember the first time I saw her on CNBC, thinking how much she looked like a young Diana Rigg of ‘The Avengers’ British TV series. I never missed that show, way back when. The rumor is that Trish got fired from CNBC when she refused some assignment. When you look like that, AND are smart, finding a job is never a problem.
Want to GAMBLE on a takeover with all that oil money that you don’t know what to do with? Buy Anglo American. Think platinum, palladium, rhodium, diamonds, iron, copper, coal, gold, and silver. You think someone like BHP or Rio Tinto would like to cut a deal to own all that? I do. But it might take a few years. Or it may never happen.