We should be helping people confront today’s realities.

 The Federalist

These Economists Said Inflation Wouldn't Happen, Now Look ...

2週間前

なるほどねえ。アメリカでもいろいろ議論があるんだな。

While many Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities, Democrats will not own up to the fact that their Covid lockdowns and “stimulus” packages are part of the problem. On multiple occasions since April 2020, Congress has essentially paid Americans to stay at home by handing out money in the name of Covid relief. Between resulting worker shortages, supply chain issues (caused in part by Democrats’ efforts to shut down the economy for months), and now more spending from Biden, there’s no surprise inflation just keeps growing.

バイデン大統領のロックダウンで労働力不足、サプライチェーン問題が起きて、さらに巨額の支出したらインフレは当たり前だろう、と。

対して、スティグリッツ氏 

A Balanced Response to Inflation

Feb 7, 2022

JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ

Nonetheless, my biggest concern is that central banks will overreact, raising interest rates excessively and hampering the nascent recovery. As always, those at the bottom of the income scale would suffer the most in this scenario.

Moreover, given that a large proportion of today’s inflation stems from global issues – like chip shortages and the behavior of oil cartels – it is a gross exaggeration to blame inflation on excessive fiscal support in the US. Acting on its own, the US can have only a limited effect on global prices.

 

 Recognizing that the cost of doing too little would be huge, US policymakers did the right thing.

We should not attack a supply-side problem by lowering demand and increasing unemployment. That might dampen inflation if it is taken far enough, but it will also ruin people’s lives.

What we need instead are targeted structural and fiscal policies aimed at unblocking supply bottlenecks and helping people confront today’s realities. For example, food stamps for the needy should be indexed to the price of food, and energy (fuel) subsidies to the price of energy. Beyond that, a one-time “inflation adjustment” tax cut for lower- and middle-income households would help them through the post-pandemic transition

バイデン政権は正しいことをした、と。たしかに、インフレになっているが、これは、 石油の価格操作や供給不足のために起きているものであり、これを全面的に米政府の支出のせいにするのはやりすぎ。金利を上げて、需要を減らし、失業を増やすようなやりかたで供給の問題にとりくむべきではない、と。むしろ、食料配給券や燃料費補助金、あるいは低所得、中間所得層に特化した減税で対応すべきである、と。