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The US economy is booming. Public investments in infrastructure, education, clean energy, and more is accelerating labour productivity, growing wages, and spurring employment. Recent economic data shows that “Bidenomics” is working and just as a rising tide lifts all boats, the average American worker hasn't had it so good in a generation or more. But critics are pointing to the high cost of living – from expensive groceries to housing to health care – to the rise of precarious work to exploding levels of economic inequality as proof points that the president's economic policies are in fact debt fuelled chimera and achieving the American dream is fast becoming an impossibility for millions of workers. Arguing in favour of the resolution is Steven Rattner. He's the former head of Obama's Auto Task Force, an Economic Analyst on MSNBC's Morning Joe, and a contributing writer to The New York Times Op Ed page Arguing against the resolution is Michael R. Strain, the Director of Economic Policy Studies and the at the American Enterprise Institute. SOURCE: MSNBC The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths Tweet your comments about this episode to @munkdebate or comment on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/munkdebates/ To sign up for a weekly email reminder for this podcast, send an email to podcast@munkdebates.com. To support civil and substantive debate on the big questions of the day, consider becoming a Munk Member at https://munkdebates.com/membership Members receive access to our 50+ year library of great debates in HD video, a free Munk Debates book, newsletter and ticketing privileges at our live events. This podcast is a project of the Munk Debates, a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to fostering civil and substantive public dialogue - https://munkdebates.com/ Executive Producer: Ricki Gurwitz Senior Producer: Daniel Kitts Editor: Kieran Lynch
Michael R. Strain is the director of Economic Policy Studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies labor markets, public finance, social policy, and macroeconomics. Before joining AEI, Dr. Strain worked in the Center for Economic Studies at the US Census Bureau and in the macroeconomics research group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He holds a PhD in economics from Cornell University.Dr. Strain is joined by Jake Kirshen of the University of North Carolina to discuss inflation, the national debt, and an economic policy perspective on our upcoming election.To learn more about AEI's work on college campuses, visit our website.To learn more about Summer Honors Program, visit our page here.
Michael R. Strain is an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. Jay talks with him about his upbringing, his education, and how he arrived at his views, which favor economic freedom and freedom generally—the “open society.” What about our federal budget deficit and national debt? Is there bound to be a reckoning? Strain says that […]
Michael R. Strain is an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. Jay talks with him about his upbringing, his education, and how he arrived at his views, which favor economic freedom and freedom generally—the “open society.” What about our federal budget deficit and national debt? Is there bound to be a reckoning? Strain says that there are two kinds of reckoning: a horrendous, destructive bear, suddenly at your door; and termites, eating away at your foundations, day after day. We are in termite territory. Economics may be a “dismal science,” but not in the hands, and in the conversation, of Mike Strain.
Justin and John sit down with Michael R. Strain, director of Economic Policy Studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. Michael assesses the COVID stimulus packages and their impact on inflation, addressing the direct cash payments and criticizing the popular concept of UBI. He explains why the national debt matters for U.S. interests and describes the likely consequences of a U.S. debt default.Read more from Michael here: https://www.aei.org/profile/michael-r-strain/
Michael R. Strain is the director of Economic Policy Studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He's also the author of The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It) During this podcast discussion, Michael talks about three things to know about the state of the US economy. He also talks about the right way to think about the debt ceiling.
Erik Brynjolfsson's paper “The Turing Trap: The Promise and Peril of Human-Like Artificial Intelligence” argues that the “imitation game” of creating tech that mimics humans has increased productivity and living standards, but does not exist without costs. Those costs make up “The Turing Trap” which happens when humans not involved in creating AI cannot compete with the productivity and efficiency of the robots designed to do their jobs, and lose control of their economic and political futures. The Turing Trap sits at the center of contemporary labor force struggles, including the Great Resignation, the fight for “good jobs” and cratering male labor force participation. Michael Strain, who directs AEI's Economic Policy Studies, joins Dr. Brynjolfsson and I to discuss what economic policy can do to encourage more innovators aim higher and create machines that augment rather than replace human labor, and how that effort is crucial to the American Dream. Mentioned in the episode https://www.brynjolfsson.com/ (Erik Brynjolfsson) https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Thomas-More/dp/1512093386 (Utopia Paperback by Thomas More) https://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293354 (Foundation Mass Market Paperback by Isaac Asimov) https://www.amazon.com/Worldly-Philosophers-Economic-Thinkers-Library/dp/1441743669 (Heilbronner's Worldly Philosophers) https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/5075.html (Doug Hofstadter) https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/news/the-turing-trap-the-promise-peril-of-human-like-artificial-intelligence/ (The Turing Trap by Erik Brynjolfsson) https://www.aei.org/profile/michael-r-strain/ (Michael R. Strain) https://www.amazon.com/American-Dream-Not-Dead-Populism/dp/159947557X (The American Dream is Not Dead) https://www.city-journal.org/html/when-high-schools-shaped-americas-destiny-15254.html (The High School Movement) https://taxfoundation.org/tax-basics/pigouvian-tax/#:~:text=A%20Pigouvian%20tax%2C%20named%20after,sugar%20taxes%2C%20and%20carbon%20taxes. (Pigouvian Tax) https://taxfoundation.org/tax-basics/consumption-tax/ (Consumption Tax) https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxreformact1986.asp (Tax Reform Act of 1986) https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/mankiw/files/smart_taxes.pdf (Greg Mankiw Pigou Club)
Michael R. Strain is the Director of Economic Policy Studies and Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He's also the author of The American Dream Is Not Dead. During this conversation, Michael and Matt discuss why liberal democracy is precious and fragile. Then, Michael briefs us on how Russia's invasion in Ukraine could impact the European economy.
Why the U.S. is closing in on both a debt default and a government shutdown. Topics covered include:How a government shutdown differs from a debt ceiling crisisWhy hasn't Congress passed legislation to fund the government and raise the debt limitHow refusing to increase the debt ceiling could impact Social SecurityHow big is the national debt and who owns itWhy we never know how much federal debt is too much: Japan vs the U.S.How federal debt is used and how it has led to financial innovationWhy countries default on their debtWhat are some of the challenges with central banks pegging interest rates and monetizing the debtWhat could cause the U.S. dollar to crash and inflation to soarThanks to Alto CryptoIRA and LinkedIn for sponsoring the episode.Show NotesAmerica's debt ceiling is a disaster, though fiscal rules can help—The EconomistTreasury Bulletin, September 2021—Bureau of the Fiscal ServiceMajor Foreign Holding of Treasury Securities—Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve BoardFed official warns of ‘extreme' market reaction unless debt ceiling raised by Lauren Fedor, Colby Smith and James Politi - The Financial TimesRepublicans Are Playing a Dangerous Game With Debt by Michael R. Strain—The New York TimesExplainer: What happens when the U.S. federal government shuts down? by Jason Lange—ReutersJanet Yellen Says Treasury Could Exhaust Cash Reserves by Oct. 18 if Debt Limit Isn't Raised by Nick Timiraos and Kate Davidson—The Wall Street JournalJanet Yellen: Congress, Raise the Debt Limit by Janet Yellen—The Wall Street JournalDevin Carroll on YouTubeIn Defense of Public Debt by Barry Eichengreen, Asmaa El-Ganainy, Rui Esteves, and Kris James MitchenerDifferent Types of Central Bank Insolvency and the Central Role of Seignorage by R. ReisHow do central banks control inflation? A guide for the perplexed by Laura Castillo-Martinez and Ricardo Reis—London School of Economics and Political ScienceCan the Central Bank Alleviate Fiscal Burdens? by Ricardo Reis—London School of Economics and Political ScienceSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The majority of the world's central banks are exploring digital currency. Most proposals for a central bank digital currency could function like US dollars. It could be widely accepted, an alternative to cash in an increasingly cashless society. In the US, a digital currency could give access to the financial system to the unbanked and may increase the efficiency of financial transactions. Should the Fed launch a digital currency? Federal Reserve Governor Christopher J. Waller will give a speech on this issue, followed by a conversation with AEI's Michael R. Strain. Watch the full event https://www.aei.org/events/should-the-fed-launch-a-digital-currency-a-speech-by-federal-reserve-governor-christopher-waller/ (here).
Michael R. Strain, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), talks about Bezos and the space-flight billionaires. Follow Michael Strain on Twitter and get his book, The American Dream Is Not Dead. *** If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a five-star review on iTunes. It really makes a difference in helping people find […]
Does hard work pay off? Do workers enjoy the fruits of their labor? Can a child living in poverty grow up to be financially successful? These are the questions Dr. Michael R. Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, answers in his new book, The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But […]
Does hard work pay off? Do workers enjoy the fruits of their labor? Can a child living in poverty grow up to be financially successful? These are the questions Dr. Michael R. Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, answers in his new book, The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).Populists on both sides of the political aisle routinely announce that the American Dream is dead. According to them, the game has been rigged by elites, workers can’t get ahead, wages have been stagnant for decades, and the middle class is dying. This rhetoric is dangerous and wrong. Dr. Strain shows that on measures of economic opportunity and quality of life, there has never been a better time to be alive in America.Markets, populism and a fading American dream – Acton Institute PowerBlog The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It) - BookAEI - American Enterprise Institute Subscribe to Acton Institute Events podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In an effort to explain the current state of the economy as well as the political ramifications of some parts of the Biden agenda coming down the pipeline, Jonah invited Michael Strain, his colleague at the American Enterprise Institute, for a return appearance. Strain explains complicated issues without confusing the plebeians among us who can’t look at numbers for very long before developing a headache. Speaking of headaches, near the end of the podcast the guys get into a relitigation of the ending of Lost, in addition to a brief discussion of WandaVision, Peaky Blinders, and Deep Impact, of all things. Show Notes: -Michael R. Strain, American Enterprise Institute -Michael’s latest book, The American Dream is Not Dead (But Populism Could Kill It) -Larry Summers: “The Biden stimulus is admirably ambitious. But it brings some big risks, too” -Michael in National Review: “When Will the Pandemic End?” -Consumers to unleash trillions of dollars in excess savings when pandemic ends -Paul Volcker’s war on inflation -Michael in Bloomberg Opinion: “How to Make a (Modest) Minimum Wage Hike Work” -Josh Hawley’s minimum wage proposal -Jonah’s love of public sector unions -Lost as a metaphor for lack of payoff See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Michael R. Strain, Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), talks about his new book, The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).