UP Director Jared Bernstein Discusses Economy
by Jared BernsteinLink to article
Jared Bernstein has just joined UP’s board of directors. He is a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and author of just-released “Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed (And Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries)” Below is an excerpt from the TPM Cafe Book Club at http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/tpmcafe-book-club/ where Jared, Barbara Ehrenreich, and others discuss today’s economy in terms of real people.
Let’s Talk “Crunch”
First, I want to thank TPM’s Andrew Golis for setting up this book club. Second, I want to thank Brad DeLong, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Alan Viard for agreeing to post along with me on “Crunch” over the next few days (Tyler Cowan is a “maybe”—I’m hoping he will post some responses too).
A bunch of “Crunch” is me answering real people’s questions about the economy—not wonk’s questions, but actual questions gathered from folks who are interested in matters economic but not necessarily schooled in them. The questions range from the definitional: “What’s GDP; how’s unemployment defined,” and “What does the Federal Reserve do, anyway?” and the timely: “What are bubbles and what is a recession?” There are behavioral questions, like “Should I give money to a homeless person or hire an undocumented worker?” as well as policy questions and solutions, like “Do other countries really spend less than we do on health care with better results?” or “Are budget deficits really a problem?”
And, of course, “Why do I feel so squeezed?”
Please click on the link to view the entire discussion:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/tpmcafe-book-club/
Tags: Barbara-Ehrenreich, Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed, economics, Jared Bernstein, recession, talking points memo, tpmcafe book club