General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPaul Krugman- The Timidity Trap
There dont seem to be any major economic crises underway right this moment, and policy makers in many places are patting themselves on the back. In Europe, for example, theyre crowing about Spains recovery: the country seems set to grow at least twice as fast this year as previously forecast.
Unfortunately, that means growth of 1 percent, versus 0.5 percent, in a deeply depressed economy with 55 percent youth unemployment. The fact that this can be considered good news just goes to show how accustomed weve grown to terrible economic conditions. Were doing worse than anyone could have imagined a few years ago, yet people seem increasingly to be accepting this miserable situation as the new normal.
How did this happen? There were multiple reasons, of course. But Ive been thinking about this question a lot lately, in part because Ive been asked to discuss a new assessment of Japans efforts to break out of its deflation trap. And Id argue that an important source of failure was what Ive taken to calling the timidity trap the consistent tendency of policy makers who have the right ideas in principle to go for half-measures in practice, and the way this timidity ends up backfiring, politically and even economically.
In other words, Yeats had it right: the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.
more
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/opinion/krugman-the-timidity-trap.html
jsr
(7,712 posts)Yeats was right.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)It is a *strategy.*
They. Do. Not. Work. For. Us.
jsr
(7,712 posts)a.k.a. the "Make Me Do It" strategy because they're, oh, sooooooo "timid".
a.k.a. the "You People Can't Make Me Do Shit" strategy.
But it's awful hard to tell resolute from timid anymore.