RECENT BLOG POSTS

Who’s Afraid of Budget Deficits?

January 28th, 2019

How Washington Should End Its Debt Obsession

By Jason Furman and Lawrence H. Summers

The United States’ annual budget deficit is set to reach nearly $1 trillion this year, more than four percent of GDP and up from $585 billion in 2016. As a result of the continuing shortfall, over the next decade, the national debt—the total amount owed by the U.S. government—is projected to balloon from its current level of 78 percent of GDP to 105 percent of GDP. Such huge amounts of debt are unprecedented for the United States during a time of economic prosperity. READ MORE

Has economics failed us? Hardly

January 24th, 2019

My friend Fareed Zakaria has celebrated his well-deserved recognition by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the 10 most important foreign policy thinkers of the last decade by writing an essay entitled “The End of Economics,” doubting the relevance and utility of economics and economists.  Because Fareed is so thoughtful, and echoes arguments that are frequently made, he deserves a considered response. READ MORE