Right? I have been on smaller rollercoasters before, I don't like them. The ones at Disney World are fun-- like Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. But I'm not riding the Hulk anytime soon.I have a really, really bad fear of heights. So I'm pretty jealous he could keep his cool like that. Guess it helps to talk during some of the scary parts to help get your mind off the drops.
Paul Krugman was so STOIC on that ride that I was looking at the background, seeing if I could detect that the ride was staged. That man has brillo pad wire for nerves.
I think regardless of physical stress of high acceleration Paul was focusing on the subject of discussion leaving him relatively immune to the fear part of the ride.
He had his glasses on. That's s desd giveaway. I've never even tried to keep my sunglasses on and the attendants will hastily tell you to put them in the containers next to the platform.
I Write A Song A Day Bits of knowledge dropped between incoherent screams and squeals, bouts of nausea, and pure relief when it ends? Sounds a lot like college to me! ✌💚😁
This has been done on Korean variety show “Running Man” several times. They’ve made people sing karaoke to get a high score; also eat a whole bowl of noodles; or spot strange things off the track. All pretty entertaining.
They dropped me from one of those freefall towers in their park 20 years ago; I was so upset from the fall I haven’t gone back. However, after seeing Steven and Paul, I’m buying a ticket next week to Six Flags..
Except, a rollercoaster and macroeconomics are both controlled. Not directly at all times, but when things go out of hand, authorities will step in and take control, and that goes for both a rollercoaster and the economy.
The roller coaster, like the economy, goes up and down rapidly but can be brought under control with the right kind of track (or economic policy). Just like there's no such thing as a flat roller coaster, there's no such thing as a flat economy. Movement is inevitable. Policy to restrain the economy when it goes too far up or two far down is paramount. Smoothing the curves of the business cycle is the directive of the Federal Reserve Bank, which controls monetary policy, and it ought to be the directive of Congress's economic policy over on the fiscal side of things. Fortunately, good monetary policy can correct for bad fiscal policy a lot of the time. If it couldn't, we'd be in serious trouble. That's why its absolutely essential that the independence of the Federal Reserve Bank is preserved.
No, Paul. You _did_ it wrong. Of course, Stephen, _you_ did it wrong, _too._ You want the full roller-coaster experience, you have to go through it with your arms swinging freely over your head. That death grip on the brace in front of you is the _height_ of irrationality.
Definitely my favorite. What HELPS is there's no upside down... AND it's really smooth. But it is still a BEAST. Imagine if they did this on Scream Machine!!?!?!?
Paul Krugman: "Print much more of it -money-" Stephen: "Print more money?" Paul: "Yeah" Stephen: "that's brings to weimar republic were people's wheelbarrow full of money just to buy bread" Paul: "Actually no, it just brings prosperity." . Stephen: "Do you think inflation can ever be good?" Paul: "yeah a little bit can be helpful." I really wonder who is the economist here and who is the comedian?
He isn't wrong. The issue is that most people don't understand anything but Weimar. Runaway inflation is bad. However, some inflation is good (as assets lose their value over time, and the population grows over time). Borrowing beyond your means for things with no value is bad. Borrowing and investing in assets is good. The key is to make money move. Buying wisely, by borrowing wisely. And for those with money, lending wisely through incentives that give you a return on your investment. The issue is economic bubbles...when inflation is too high, money loses value. When it is too low, money stops moving because there is no return on investment. When the bubble pops things go south.
If all your assets depreciate in value but the money in your mattress, guess what you won't be doing as much and what you're going to be doing more of. You won't be doing as much consuming and investing and you'll be doing a lot more money hoarding. Without modest inflation you reward people for not taking part in the economy and for collectively causing deflationary recessions and depressions.
If people save their money in a bank and it gives the bank more funds to loan, isn't that participation? Don't get me wrong, I know that's not exactly how banking works today, but it did work that way a long, long time and there's till some remnants left.
That was comedy gold. This had a lot more production quality, but not as much humor. Ah...the early Colbert, as David Brinkley. Them's some good old times.
Please tell me that this (or similar activities) will become a recurring segment. Next time, discuss the pros & cons of Basic Minimum Income while on the Gravitron.
Its an old tried and true theory that you save when things go well so you have a buffer for a rainy day. You know, next time the banks go bust cause they know how to manage money so well :3
Holy freakin crap. How did he not pass out! And kept on point. Makes me wonder how he's wired! My stomach was tight as it approached the apex of the drop several times. And I lovvvve roller coasters.
Where do you think money comes from? Governments are the creator of money and enforce the rules of the economy in which it is used. Running a deficit is not a problem as long as it is not causing inflation. If it does cause inflation the government can either tax or reduce spending to curb the inflation. The national debt also is not something that you pay back, it is not even debt. It merely represents US dollars that have yet to be used for the payment of tax. Any debt the government holds is in its own currency too meaning all debts are easily paid. MMT can help explain some of these things.
MMT_WillSaveUs No the government doesn't create money. First of all we use currency today not money and second, it is Banks that create the currency not the government. Yes even the federal reserve is not federal because the constitution strictly prohibits the government to create currency other than gold or silver which is considered true '"money" so they charted a private bank to create it for them. and most of the currency in existence is created digitally by other private sector banks every time a bank makes a loan. Only a couple percent of all currency in existence is government. The national debt, is definitely a debt, because we make payments on it and pay interest on it. We can and have on at least one occasion payed it off entirely When deficit spending causes inflation there is almost never any austerity to curb it and higher taxes grind commerce to a halt. In fact inflation had destroyed several currencies in just the U.S alone. We have gone through 4 separate central banks. All were shut down because of corruption, hyperinflation and deflation. No central bank can predict and control an economy better than millions of people just acting in their own interests. I propose a decentralized gold and silver money supply. Which is not the same as a gold standard. Our gold standard was riddled with fraud and had vastly inadequate gold to cover the paper in circulation. Which is why it was junked, but we threw out the baby with the bath water in doing so. The US government has the biggest supply of gold and silver in the world, thousands of tons just sitting in vaults unused. It is long overdue for the denationalization of these assets. Simply divide all the federal reserve notes in existence by the ounces of silver and exchange all federal notes at that exchange rate with a free market exchange rate for the gold as well. Legalize free coinage again, so people can mint any scrap silver and gold to inflate the new currency to a near melt value. Repeal the legal tender laws, because no one needs to be forced to use honnest money. Only fiat currency needs those laws to be effective and then use all the federal reserve notes to pay off the national debt and bam you have a government out of debt, a bust free economy and a near inflation/deflation proof currency. There will always be a little inflation as people find new ways to mine and mint new coins but this inflation is much more productive because it is supply side. It is generated from the production of more resources rather than excessive debt. Which doesnt intrinsically boost the economy like supply side inflation does. and before you say "there isnt enough gold." The truth is the supply is irrelevant. if one ounce of gold is too valuable for everyday transactions then people will simply use 1/2 oz coins or 1/10 oz coins or even silver which is far more common
Governments do create money. Thats what the omnibus spending package is doing every year. It is true banks create money with fractional reserve banking but that is a practice they should not be allowed to do anyways as it is counterfeiting. Only reason gold was money is because Kings said you need this to pay your tax like any other currency. They could have chose anything they wanted to use and they happen to choose gold. Economies also crashed and burned under a gold standard as well. Gold is not money, what is money is what ever the government says is money through threat of force. Bitcoin is a good example of trying to create a private sector currency. All it did was crash and burn and won't recover as there is no reason to use it. However if the government created Bitcoin and said you need this to pay your taxes then it would create demand for the currency and not using it you would suffer under threat of violence. It is how money works and nothing has come along to change that. When the rich have taken all the gold for themselves how are you going to get the economy going again? The rich are not going to part with it out of good will. They will just make everyone debt slaves. Money has a natural upwards flow and a gold standard does not stop that from happening. The biggest change we need in our economy right now is a change back to demand side economics. Tax the rich 70% - 90% so there will be incentive again to pay workers higher wages and get rid of all the corporate off shoring tax loopholes. Letting Bezos sit on $150 billion is a waste of money. It could have gone to workers and helped our money velocity to stop crashing like it has been since 2008. Not to mention when workers earn more they no longer qualify for government welfare benefits as they make too much money allowing for the deficit to shrink. Of course the other part of the deficit is to cut half our war budget and pull all our bases home. The world doesn't need us to police it at all. Hardest part will be getting rid of the Oligarchy.
"fractional reserve banking but that is a practice they should not be allowed to do anyways as it is counterfeiting." I agree 100%, Our entire monetary system is legalized fraud. "Only reason gold was money is because Kings said you need this to pay your tax like any other currency. They could have chose anything they wanted to use and they happen to choose gold" There was good reason gold was chosen by most all governments all throughout history. They didn't "happen" to decide gold to be money. The reason Gold was chosen was it possesses cretin properties that made it a perfect money supply. Number 1. It was portable, easy to carry vast amounts of wealth in relatively small amounts which you cant do for say timber. #2 It was durable, It lasts an eternity which cant be said for food. #3 It is Divisible and reusable, you can melt it down and divide it up without any loss in value which cant be said for say a TV. #4 It is Fungible, which means it is interchangeable, any OZ of gold is just as good and accepted as any other OZ, which cant be said for say precious gems and #5 it is a store of value. It has always been valuable for thousands of years, because has an intrinsic use in it of itself as a metal which cant be said for say Bit Coin, or even today's federal reserve notes that lose value every single year like clockwork and #7 It is near impossible to counterfeit. It's weight and purity can be tested very accurately. These are the properties that made Gold the standard for money for thousands of years. "When the rich have taken all the gold for themselves how are you going to get the economy going again? The rich are not going to part with it out of good will. "" Economies also crashed and burned under a gold standard as well: First of all i made it very clear i don't want a gold standard. Our gold standard was also fractional which as you agreed earlier was "counterfeiting". Hence the "crashing" and "burning. What i am suggesting is a return to free coinage of the original silver dollar, with a free market exchange for gold as well. Im very careful with my wording so please pay attention if you are going to try and rebut an argument i did not make. Second The rich wont "take" the gold and horde it, because Greshams law doesn't apply to the monetary system i propose. Because there is no bad fiat" money to compel the hording of gold. Fractional money would be effectively Illegal under the system. The rich are consumers too they cant eat gold. They will trade it for goods and services! Invest it and higher people. You forget that the Supply comes BEFORE demand. You cant spend money unless there is something to spend it on and who do you think invests and highers people to produce? Rich people! You cant tax them 90% without driving them and their entire business out of the country and put all their workers on the street. And also how did they get rich in the first place hmm??? People GAVE them their money voluntarily because they liked what they produced! Most rich people didn't steal the money they have. (Well unless they work in government of course.) They earned it! the people voted for them to be rich by providing the best product at the lowest price. Id prefer less taxes on everyone rich AND poor, they deserve to be treated equally, under the law. So if there was such thing as a "fair" tax (and there isn't) it would be a low flat tax. "Of course the other part of the deficit is to cut half our war budget and pull all our bases home. The world doesn't need us to police it at all." I absolutely agree 100% but it will never happen until we go bankrupt and cant afford our bloated military. Militarily spending always increases whether we have a republican or democrat, Trump or Obama. They are all sell outs to the military industrial complex, our fraudulent banking system, and the pharmaceutical and insurance cartels
If you DO want to learn about macro economics, I heartily recommend the book "Economix" by michael goodwin, it helps clarify a lot of concepts, though it's criticism of libertarianism at the time almost seems quaint when compared to what they're up to now...
Obviously, it matters how the printed money is distributed. Main stream economists pretty often ignore distribution. Give wall street money, and they will create speculative bubbles. If people get bailouts (from debts) or wage increases, the economy will be stimulated. Also, I think Krugman has still not come around to a basic fact; money is created when loans are issued, and destroyed when loans are paid back. Krugman said that banks are just mediaries between depositors and borrowers. Not true. Bank of England and a couple of other institutions have written about this.
smh they let stephen keep his glasses on, meanwhile i went to great adventure for the first time this past sunday and on almost every intense coaster or whatever, they had a box that you have to put your glasses in before you can go on the ride. wack.
Richard Braakman they literally make you turn out your pockets before you get on some rides. we were gonna go on el toro (before we yeeted outta there when we heard it was an hour and 15 minute wait) and as we were getting in line, they literally made us turn out our pockets. my aunt who was sitting and waiting for us somewhere was holding all of my stuff but my cousin hid her phone down her pants 😂
I can just imagine how this conversation went. Producer: Mr. Krugman, would you like to spend three minutes on a roller coaster talking to Stephen Colbert about macroeconomics? Paul Krugman: No thank you. I don't like roller coasters. Producer: We'll pay you $5000 in addition to any travel expenses. Paul Krugman : ... Let me check my calendar.
For someone who has never been on a rollercoaster, Paul Krugman handled that like a champ.
Right? I have been on smaller rollercoasters before, I don't like them. The ones at Disney World are fun-- like Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. But I'm not riding the Hulk anytime soon.I have a really, really bad fear of heights. So I'm pretty jealous he could keep his cool like that. Guess it helps to talk during some of the scary parts to help get your mind off the drops.
I was almost certain it was a joke
And one more reason to love Colbert.
@luca_starks Dr. Paul Krugan *is* a champ! Not just in economics.
I bet he hasn't seen final destination 3
I’m shocked that guy, on his first roller coaster ride, was able to talk at all. I couldn’t
I was puckered just watching them go over the big drop lol ... Dude handled it like a champ.
i was literaly just on this ride yesterday and i got stuck oof
No way at all. I know what this feels like and I would be 25% enjoyment, 75% dying in fear.
+Highway Speeder Nitro isn't a kiddie ride. It goes 80 miles per hour, which is pretty fast for a roller coaster.
I CAN DO THIS in a heart beat-talking to my friend while riding on the coaster no problem. I"M not afraid of HEIGHTS @ClaireConover
Man... If this is really is first roller coaster ride, he did that like he trained to go to the moon!
AWARHERO yeah hes a champ
AWARHERO lol are you jersey? Nitros a good one. Been around awhile. But it's pretty fast (no flips)
Yup. Respect.
It's actually a bit he used to do back in the day on the Dana Carvey Show
Must have blacked out in the helix, they cut past it to the mid-course brake
Paul Krugman was so STOIC on that ride that I was looking at the background, seeing if I could detect that the ride was staged. That man has brillo pad wire for nerves.
*+1hourOfLove*
When you've sold his type of economics to the world and been lauded for it, you'd have to have nerves of steel.
Yes, he was stoically turning grey.
I think regardless of physical stress of high acceleration Paul was focusing on the subject of discussion leaving him relatively immune to the fear part of the ride.
He had his glasses on. That's s desd giveaway. I've never even tried to keep my sunglasses on and the attendants will hastily tell you to put them in the containers next to the platform.
it would be more expensive to fake it
I learned something about the economy, but I also learned that Paul Krugman is a BOSS.
Right, printing money does bring prosperity. What a bunch of nonesense.
This would be so much better than college
I Write A Song A Day Bits of knowledge dropped between incoherent screams and squeals, bouts of nausea, and pure relief when it ends? Sounds a lot like college to me! ✌💚😁
I love the poorly educated!
This. Is. Genius. !!!!
but put subtitles in for the next one :)
Right! I wanted to hear the answers!
This has been done on Korean variety show “Running Man” several times. They’ve made people sing karaoke to get a high score; also eat a whole bowl of noodles; or spot strange things off the track. All pretty entertaining.
Yes, but how many of them were Nobel prize-winning economists?
David Adams I meant overlayed like the ones from the F1 channel ^^
They should also use headset mics instead of lapel mics next time, should improve the sound quality a lot in a difficult environment like that.
That poor man XD I wanted to hear what he had to say tho lol I wonder if he kissed the floor.
NOYDB No sweetheart. What I meant is a normal sit down discussion. Longer interview. ^___^
Kindred spirits bonding. A Colbert a koala bear and no easily triggered people with nothing important to complain about in sight.
Oi, they're not bears. Stephen got it right, why can't you?
A _Cole_ Bear. That's a _very_ rare species.
HAH!
Do Cole Bears follow Cole's Law?
"It is the law that, when dining out, either one person will eat everyone's cole slaw, or nobody eats the cole slaw at all."
now thats how you explain macroeconomics
How didn’t their glasses fly off their faces?!
The power of attraction.
Mohammad Alattar asking the real questions
same reason they dont fall outta their chairs.
sometimes the wind is strong, sometimes it isn't. it's called WEATHER
Responsible fiscal policy.
Krugman handled his first ride on a rollercoaster much better than I did!
I think Colbert should do segment like this with every politician especially Trump
The temptation to pitch them off the rollercoaster would be too great.
Trump can't fit in chair.
This video was cut one Nobel Prize-winning barf too short. That's the face of a man that has been defeated by a roller coaster.
Trygve Heivang He did really well for a first time! No fear during the drops, I think he was fine until it stopped.
They dropped me from one of those freefall towers in their park 20 years ago; I was so upset from the fall I haven’t gone back. However, after seeing Steven and Paul, I’m buying a ticket next week to Six Flags..
1p6t1gms That's a bizarre comment right there.
Shawn Diaz yeah they spelled Stephen's name “Steven”.
It's almost like you chose to ride the drop tower... knowing full and well that a drop tower... drops you.
You know they will drop you. You don't know what it will feel like. If it felt awful, then you don't go back. How hard is that to understand?
Adam Lang If you don’t like the feeling then why go in the first place?
Very fitting analogy, seeing as capitalism and the macroeconomics it creates are very much an uncontrolled rollercoaster ride themselves.
Except, a rollercoaster and macroeconomics are both controlled. Not directly at all times, but when things go out of hand, authorities will step in and take control, and that goes for both a rollercoaster and the economy.
The roller coaster, like the economy, goes up and down rapidly but can be brought under control with the right kind of track (or economic policy).
Just like there's no such thing as a flat roller coaster, there's no such thing as a flat economy. Movement is inevitable. Policy to restrain the economy when it goes too far up or two far down is paramount. Smoothing the curves of the business cycle is the directive of the Federal Reserve Bank, which controls monetary policy, and it ought to be the directive of Congress's economic policy over on the fiscal side of things.
Fortunately, good monetary policy can correct for bad fiscal policy a lot of the time. If it couldn't, we'd be in serious trouble. That's why its absolutely essential that the independence of the Federal Reserve Bank is preserved.
Mooooore of that!!! All educative segments should be like that!
Every minute, every second I was watching this video, I was amazed at one thing:
*HOW DID THEIR GLASSES STAY ON?*
Such a calm and peaceful segment, compared to the crazy trump/white house roller-coaster
Damn, Paul Krugman kept it together pretty well.
Old school Stephen glasses on this one
I'm actually pretty sure they filmed this 2 years ago and only now using this. this was a segment they used to do
I noticed that lol
Good point! Krugman's nobel was in 2008 and he said in the video it was 7 years ago. So this bit is definitely from 2015!
he looks younger too.
Glad someone else notice too! This clip felt "old", like it was cut way way back and they finally found a use for it now.
If he wasn't talking about economics, I'm betting he would have had Much harder time on this roller coaster!!
Agreed. Looks like talking helped keep his mind off the drops.
What a genius segment! Love it.
1:21 WRONG, LOL, he won the Nobel Prize in 2008, this was recorded in 2018, 10 years, not 7.
Reminds me of Colbert's performance on a rollercoster discussing politics on the Dana Carvey show
The guy in the red shirt is really happy to listen about macroeconomics. 1:00
Funny video, but I'd actually really love to see Stephen sit down and do a much more extending thing in a more serious manner with Paul Krugman.
LOL!!
"Out please!". Can you print that and send it to Trumputin??
Priceless!
more Roller Coaster episodes please!
Dude that was awsome.. do more interviews on roller coasters lol
Wow! He did so well for his first time. I hate roller coasters, and watching this made my stomach lurch.
Having that be your first roller coaster is like having a Brazilian wax the first time you get a bikini wax.
More of this please.😅
"Our economy right now like this roller coaster is slowly going up, there;s no reason to believe it'll ever drop"
*Coronavirus has entered the chat*
It costs $15 for the photo at over Texas
2:59 Paul Krugman on the edge of losing his lunch
I was impressed how composed they were..good job
This should be a series
wait this was actually super hilarious! I want to see more than 4 minutes of this!
This just combined my 2 favorite things: roller coasters and macroeconomics. 🎢📉
Thank you Paul and Stephen. That was more valuable than the whole semester I wasted in Macro class at Penn State.
This reminds me so much of the final sketch on the Dana Carvey Show, which Colbert was in
Best interview style ever
No, Paul. You _did_ it wrong. Of course, Stephen, _you_ did it wrong, _too._ You want the full roller-coaster experience, you have to go through it with your arms swinging freely over your head. That death grip on the brace in front of you is the _height_ of irrationality.
That was the most boring roller coaster ride ever, even excluding the economics lesson.
NOIDED
You can take your rollercoaster shaming to the curb, sir!
AlA Al Ridden it, it's fun not amazing, but certainly not boring. GP
the fact that the word "did" is italicized is driving me crazy
Brilliant as always:)
Woah that’s brave. I’ve never been on a dollar coaster with my glasses on. I spent too much on them for that.
Nitro was actually my first roller coaster ride too. It's one of my favorite coasters, but probably work your way up before going on this one.
Definitely my favorite. What HELPS is there's no upside down... AND it's really smooth. But it is still a BEAST. Imagine if they did this on Scream Machine!!?!?!?
Just the thought of taking an economics class makes me wanna scream.
This is friggin hilarious. He had such a calm demeanor for first time riding a roller coaster... genius haha
This is Gold.
Paul Krugman: "Print much more of it -money-"
Stephen: "Print more money?"
Paul: "Yeah"
Stephen: "that's brings to weimar republic were people's wheelbarrow full of money just to buy bread"
Paul: "Actually no, it just brings prosperity."
.
Stephen: "Do you think inflation can ever be good?"
Paul: "yeah a little bit can be helpful."
I really wonder who is the economist here and who is the comedian?
thank you
He isn't wrong. The issue is that most people don't understand anything but Weimar. Runaway inflation is bad. However, some inflation is good (as assets lose their value over time, and the population grows over time). Borrowing beyond your means for things with no value is bad. Borrowing and investing in assets is good.
The key is to make money move. Buying wisely, by borrowing wisely. And for those with money, lending wisely through incentives that give you a return on your investment.
The issue is economic bubbles...when inflation is too high, money loses value. When it is too low, money stops moving because there is no return on investment. When the bubble pops things go south.
If all your assets depreciate in value but the money in your mattress, guess what you won't be doing as much and what you're going to be doing more of. You won't be doing as much consuming and investing and you'll be doing a lot more money hoarding.
Without modest inflation you reward people for not taking part in the economy and for collectively causing deflationary recessions and depressions.
Zimbabwe or Venezuela?
If people save their money in a bank and it gives the bank more funds to loan, isn't that participation? Don't get me wrong, I know that's not exactly how banking works today, but it did work that way a long, long time and there's till some remnants left.
How on earth did he get Dr Krugman on a roller coaster?
Dana Carvey Show classic skit returns!
Nerdy Gamer85 I was checking to see if anyone was going to make that connection, definitely a throw back!
That was comedy gold.
This had a lot more production quality, but not as much humor.
Ah...the early Colbert, as David Brinkley. Them's some good old times.
I was automatically thinking that. Glad someone else remembered.
What was the Dana Carvey skit exactly?
A good reference to his time on The Dana Carvey Show.
Please tell me that this (or similar activities) will become a recurring segment. Next time, discuss the pros & cons of Basic Minimum Income while on the Gravitron.
I can feel his discomfort. He might get sick later on, like nerves.
This coaster looked pretty intimidating the last time I saw it. I totally chickened out but I can’t wait to cross this off my list
The guy in the red shirt is totally like "Oh my god that's Stephen Colbert".
Its an old tried and true theory that you save when things go well so you have a buffer for a rainy day. You know, next time the banks go bust cause they know how to manage money so well :3
Did you see Paul’s face!!! Priceless!!!
Wait a sec. That's great adventures nitro!!! (In jersey) Is colbert fIlming out of NY??
bridge4 Yes, his show films in The Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC, where Letterman used to do his show before he retired and Stephen took over.
bridge4 • Not many roller coasters in Manhattan I’d assume. 😎
Lol you answered your own question.
The most serious interview I've ever seen
I admire that economist for keeping his cool in what was clearly a very anxiety-provoking situation. (:
Colbert you are amazing, even with the closing question, how can we ever be so versatile like you in thoughts ..
this was a great heads up on the US equity market..
now I want to see an actual segment of Paul Krugman explaining macroeconomics!
seriously. I want to see it XD
1:30 the dude in red: me around people
They both wore their glasses on a roller coaster? Brave.
Imagine Donny's hair on this rollercoaster :)
my goal in life is to be as chill as paul
I heard Paul say like one sentence, barely, the rest was the noise from the wheels on the tracks.
Paul Kruggman must be in darned good shape for man his age.
This is silly! I really was interested in knowing the answers to Colbert's questions!
Epic Episode!
Anyone else's heart start pounding during the roller coaster drops?
Stephen you are a hoot! How about a water slide next! LOL
Holy freakin crap. How did he not pass out! And kept on point. Makes me wonder how he's wired! My stomach was tight as it approached the apex of the drop several times. And I lovvvve roller coasters.
A terrified Paul Krugman getting schooled by Steven Colbert in some Austrian economics... Priceless
Where do you think money comes from? Governments are the creator of money and enforce the rules of the economy in which it is used. Running a deficit is not a problem as long as it is not causing inflation. If it does cause inflation the government can either tax or reduce spending to curb the inflation. The national debt also is not something that you pay back, it is not even debt. It merely represents US dollars that have yet to be used for the payment of tax. Any debt the government holds is in its own currency too meaning all debts are easily paid. MMT can help explain some of these things.
MMT_WillSaveUs
No the government doesn't create money. First of all we use currency today not money and second, it is Banks that create the currency not the government. Yes even the federal reserve is not federal because the constitution strictly prohibits the government to create currency other than gold or silver which is considered true '"money" so they charted a private bank to create it for them. and most of the currency in existence is created digitally by other private sector banks every time a bank makes a loan. Only a couple percent of all currency in existence is government.
The national debt, is definitely a debt, because we make payments on it and pay interest on it. We can and have on at least one occasion payed it off entirely
When deficit spending causes inflation there is almost never any austerity to curb it and higher taxes grind commerce to a halt. In fact inflation had destroyed several currencies in just the U.S alone. We have gone through 4 separate central banks. All were shut down because of corruption, hyperinflation and deflation. No central bank can predict and control an economy better than millions of people just acting in their own interests.
I propose a decentralized gold and silver money supply. Which is not the same as a gold standard. Our gold standard was riddled with fraud and had vastly inadequate gold to cover the paper in circulation. Which is why it was junked, but we threw out the baby with the bath water in doing so. The US government has the biggest supply of gold and silver in the world, thousands of tons just sitting in vaults unused. It is long overdue for the denationalization of these assets. Simply divide all the federal reserve notes in existence by the ounces of silver and exchange all federal notes at that exchange rate with a free market exchange rate for the gold as well. Legalize free coinage again, so people can mint any scrap silver and gold to inflate the new currency to a near melt value. Repeal the legal tender laws, because no one needs to be forced to use honnest money. Only fiat currency needs those laws to be effective and then use all the federal reserve notes to pay off the national debt and bam you have a government out of debt, a bust free economy and a near inflation/deflation proof currency. There will always be a little inflation as people find new ways to mine and mint new coins but this inflation is much more productive because it is supply side. It is generated from the production of more resources rather than excessive debt. Which doesnt intrinsically boost the economy like supply side inflation does.
and before you say "there isnt enough gold." The truth is the supply is irrelevant. if one ounce of gold is too valuable for everyday transactions then people will simply use 1/2 oz coins or 1/10 oz coins or even silver which is far more common
Governments do create money. Thats what the omnibus spending package is doing every year. It is true banks create money with fractional reserve banking but that is a practice they should not be allowed to do anyways as it is counterfeiting. Only reason gold was money is because Kings said you need this to pay your tax like any other currency. They could have chose anything they wanted to use and they happen to choose gold. Economies also crashed and burned under a gold standard as well. Gold is not money, what is money is what ever the government says is money through threat of force. Bitcoin is a good example of trying to create a private sector currency. All it did was crash and burn and won't recover as there is no reason to use it. However if the government created Bitcoin and said you need this to pay your taxes then it would create demand for the currency and not using it you would suffer under threat of violence. It is how money works and nothing has come along to change that. When the rich have taken all the gold for themselves how are you going to get the economy going again? The rich are not going to part with it out of good will. They will just make everyone debt slaves. Money has a natural upwards flow and a gold standard does not stop that from happening.
The biggest change we need in our economy right now is a change back to demand side economics. Tax the rich 70% - 90% so there will be incentive again to pay workers higher wages and get rid of all the corporate off shoring tax loopholes. Letting Bezos sit on $150 billion is a waste of money. It could have gone to workers and helped our money velocity to stop crashing like it has been since 2008. Not to mention when workers earn more they no longer qualify for government welfare benefits as they make too much money allowing for the deficit to shrink. Of course the other part of the deficit is to cut half our war budget and pull all our bases home. The world doesn't need us to police it at all. Hardest part will be getting rid of the Oligarchy.
"fractional reserve banking but that is a practice they should not be allowed to do anyways as it is counterfeiting."
I agree 100%, Our entire monetary system is legalized fraud.
"Only reason gold was money is because Kings said you need this to pay your tax like any other currency. They could have chose anything they wanted to use and they happen to choose gold"
There was good reason gold was chosen by most all governments all throughout history. They didn't "happen" to decide gold to be money. The reason Gold was chosen was it possesses cretin properties that made it a perfect money supply. Number 1. It was portable, easy to carry vast amounts of wealth in relatively small amounts which you cant do for say timber. #2 It was durable, It lasts an eternity which cant be said for food. #3 It is Divisible and reusable, you can melt it down and divide it up without any loss in value which cant be said for say a TV. #4 It is Fungible, which means it is interchangeable, any OZ of gold is just as good and accepted as any other OZ, which cant be said for say precious gems and #5 it is a store of value. It has always been valuable for thousands of years, because has an intrinsic use in it of itself as a metal which cant be said for say Bit Coin, or even today's federal reserve notes that lose value every single year like clockwork and #7 It is near impossible to counterfeit. It's weight and purity can be tested very accurately. These are the properties that made Gold the standard for money for thousands of years.
"When the rich have taken all the gold for themselves how are you going to get the economy going again? The rich are not going to part with it out of good will. "" Economies also crashed and burned under a gold standard as well:
First of all i made it very clear i don't want a gold standard. Our gold standard was also fractional which as you agreed earlier was "counterfeiting". Hence the "crashing" and "burning. What i am suggesting is a return to free coinage of the original silver dollar, with a free market exchange for gold as well. Im very careful with my wording so please pay attention if you are going to try and rebut an argument i did not make.
Second The rich wont "take" the gold and horde it, because Greshams law doesn't apply to the monetary system i propose. Because there is no bad fiat" money to compel the hording of gold. Fractional money would be effectively Illegal under the system. The rich are consumers too they cant eat gold. They will trade it for goods and services! Invest it and higher people. You forget that the Supply comes BEFORE demand. You cant spend money unless there is something to spend it on and who do you think invests and highers people to produce? Rich people! You cant tax them 90% without driving them and their entire business out of the country and put all their workers on the street. And also how did they get rich in the first place hmm??? People GAVE them their money voluntarily because they liked what they produced! Most rich people didn't steal the money they have. (Well unless they work in government of course.) They earned it! the people voted for them to be rich by providing the best product at the lowest price. Id prefer less taxes on everyone rich AND poor, they deserve to be treated equally, under the law. So if there was such thing as a "fair" tax (and there isn't) it would be a low flat tax.
"Of course the other part of the deficit is to cut half our war budget and pull all our bases home. The world doesn't need us to police it at all."
I absolutely agree 100% but it will never happen until we go bankrupt and cant afford our bloated military. Militarily spending always increases whether we have a republican or democrat, Trump or Obama. They are all sell outs to the military industrial complex, our fraudulent banking system, and the pharmaceutical and insurance cartels
Understand?
I enjoyed this. It was funny and had a really deep point.
I sweated so much watching this(fear of heights)I might have gotten dehydrated ...
How does an old man keep his composure while explaining on a rollercoaster?
If you DO want to learn about macro economics, I heartily recommend the book "Economix" by michael goodwin, it helps clarify a lot of concepts, though it's criticism of libertarianism at the time almost seems quaint when compared to what they're up to now...
I remember on the Dana Carvey Show Roller Coaster special lol
Obviously, it matters how the printed money is distributed. Main stream economists pretty often ignore distribution. Give wall street money, and they will create speculative bubbles. If people get bailouts (from debts) or wage increases, the economy will be stimulated.
Also, I think Krugman has still not come around to a basic fact; money is created when loans are issued, and destroyed when loans are paid back. Krugman said that banks are just mediaries between depositors and borrowers. Not true.
Bank of England and a couple of other institutions have written about this.
Gustav to quote Steinbeck (in an admittedly different context): The banks are more than men. They’re made of men but they become something greater.
MMTer spotted!
smh they let stephen keep his glasses on, meanwhile i went to great adventure for the first time this past sunday and on almost every intense coaster or whatever, they had a box that you have to put your glasses in before you can go on the ride. wack.
When you're a star they let you do it.
I put my glasses in my pocket to keep them safe... they came out broken
Richard Braakman they literally make you turn out your pockets before you get on some rides. we were gonna go on el toro (before we yeeted outta there when we heard it was an hour and 15 minute wait) and as we were getting in line, they literally made us turn out our pockets. my aunt who was sitting and waiting for us somewhere was holding all of my stuff but my cousin hid her phone down her pants 😂
i wonder if they would say anything about perscription sports goggles, because one of the employees at cyborg asked me if my glasses had a strap.
Apparently, they make exceptions for Nobel Prize winners....and comedians
Awesome!
How did you do that!? No way! Amazing 🤣
Should the park just reserve those seats for S. Colbert & Guest?
I can just imagine how this conversation went.
Producer: Mr. Krugman, would you like to spend three minutes on a roller coaster talking to Stephen Colbert about macroeconomics?
Paul Krugman: No thank you. I don't like roller coasters.
Producer: We'll pay you $5000 in addition to any travel expenses.
Paul Krugman : ... Let me check my calendar.
Do it on El toro
Krugman may be a nobel economist but Colbert took him for a ride
This man his so smart that his brain invented an internal gyroscope just in case
Krugman seems like a nice guy to hang out with; even to have heated squabble with, dont think he'd lost it n be exasperated easily
This dude just rode a B&M Hyper for his first rollercoaster and didn’t even scream, impressive!
B&M hypers aren’t that intense though. Skyrush or intimidator305 for a first roller coaster is much more impressive.
please make this a new segment
If that truly is his first time riding... DAMN! He's a damned trooper. It took me a while to be that chill on a rollercoaster haha
That is just so wrong to do that to Mr Krugman. I have a problem with roller coasters too.
He chose an amazing coaster for his first
When was this filmed? It seems recorded a long time ago