How to fix all this

Joe Biden often talks about the role he played in crafting and implementing the 2009 stimulus that helped turn the economy around. It was, without question, too small for the size of the hole blown in the economy by the banking crisis, but it was directionally what was needed. The unfortunate reality is that recovering from the economic crisis produced by the pandemic won’t be so simple, and will require creative thinking about how to restructure the economy. 

At The Intercept, we have a new piece up by James Galbraith (who helped advise congressional Democrats on the 2009 crisis response), outlining some of the unorthodox answers that policymakers may need to come up with over the coming months and years. Simple Keynesian spending won’t do it. It’s well worth the read, particularly if you’re in a position to be developing some of this policy. But even if you’re not, it’s interesting to think about how our economy is structured now, how the pandemic is reshaping it, and what we need to do about that long term. 

Also this week I guest-hosted our podcast, Deconstructed. It posted this afternoon, and focuses on the two major races in Massachusetts, the big win by Ed Markey and the loss by Alex Morse. Let me know what you think.