Some thoughts about secular stagnation | 107 comments (107 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: use savings glut to finance public investment (none / 1)

Can't we influence them to start investing their savings glut productively by (1) penalizing savings over a certain amount and/or a certain amount of time; (2) taxing certain types of consumption and investment (e.g. on fossil fuels and their derivatives), and (3) providing incentives to invest on socially and environmentally "positive" investments, e.g. renewable energy?

Yes, this is what inflation does for you. To generate inflation, in the present environment, the only tool available (barring explicit price controls) is public spending.
This will not encourage productive investment. It will discourage garbage investment. Which is also generally a good idea, but slightly tangential to the point.
Yes, but with the exception of certain market regulations (feed-in laws, etc.) which you want to impose anyway, this is basically just outsourcing the public spending from point 1).

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Thu Nov 21st, 2013 at 05:31:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: use savings glut to finance public investment (none / 0)

And unfunded direct public spending is a LOT easier to pass than increasing taxes on the wealthy. Which would the wealthy prefer? Oh, for New Deal attitudes about marginal tax rates.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Nov 25th, 2013 at 08:19:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Some thoughts about secular stagnation | 107 comments (107 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)