tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post8490735427538333298..comments2024-03-28T06:49:24.930-04:00Comments on International Political Economy at the University of North Carolina: Krugman vs. KrugmanThomas Oatleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14092437150746625670noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post-10261680009586270992011-06-11T01:03:36.012-04:002011-06-11T01:03:36.012-04:00Thanks for your response. Your analysis helps me u...Thanks for your response. Your analysis helps me understand my uncle's preferences and the causes for variation in monetary policy preferences among all sorts of individuals in society. I agree with most of what you said. I used the term "elites" too loosely. At least for my uncle, his views are definitely shaped by big media personalities (Hannity, Beck, and Limbaugh) and cable outlets (Fox). In this sense, these can still be elites that are the key determinants of his views, just not elites in government. I guess the elites that are influencing my uncle are a particular type of societal elite: the media elite. He is never in contact with politicians, nor spends lots of time listening to them. So, he isn't shaped by government elites. Furthermore, he doesn't spend much time hanging out with people in his community (not even church, golf buddies, etc.). He works a lot, and then goes home to my aunt and their dog. So, he isn't shaped much by interest groups or civic organizations. It seems that societal, non-government elites (media elites) play a large role in shaping his monetary preferences.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post-32167838384368597792011-06-10T18:16:14.992-04:002011-06-10T18:16:14.992-04:00I obviously can't speak for your uncle, but I ...I obviously can't speak for your uncle, but I have a similar uncle. He owns his own business, and makes a decent, though not extravagant, profit. Probably similar to your uncle, he supports policies that are generally good for small business owners: low taxes, low minimum wage, low requirements on benefits/FICA contributions, few regulations, etc. I'm not sure if he wants to go back to the gold standard, but he generally supports a strong dollar. That's for two reasons: 1. he doesn't trust the government to manage the currency capably (or do much of anything capably); 2. he is not competing in a tradable industry. These are both consistent with his other beliefs and preferences, and correlate pretty well with his interests. <br /><br />Note that the "tight money" line is pushed by (some) elites, the goldbuggery movement is not elite-driven at all. A few elites have picked up on it because it is popular with a certain segment of the GOP, but that preference is very much part of the grassroots. And it tends to be most prevalent among middle class folks that have savings and/or own property, and those that think a gold standard (combined with tax cuts) would eliminate the government's ability to intervene in the economy. These are the folks that call inflation "theft" or a "hidden tax" because it erodes the value of savings. And while deflation might hurt aggregate demand, and thus their businesses, they either can't connect those dots or would benefit from the increased value of their assets. <br /><br />Others seem to adopt goldbuggerism because it comes on a platter with other anti-government/free-market principles that they agree with. Many don't seem to realize the full implications of it. I never underestimate ignorance in pursuit of interest as an important factor.Kindred Winecoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14330671232391851377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post-75416933241583456622011-06-10T10:01:46.804-04:002011-06-10T10:01:46.804-04:00I agree; I like this interest-group story more. As...I agree; I like this interest-group story more. As you say, however, elite interests and ideology matter, as I think they have been able to persuade many middle-class (even lower middle class?) individuals to support creditor interests. It seems to me that many in the middle class should support looser monetary policies; however, they possibly have been convinced by elites that tight money is in their interest and/or the country's. For example, I have an uncle in Texas that owns a small fast-food restaurant. He does not make over 70K a year and does not have lots of investments. Why is he supporting tight monetary policies, sometimes even suggesting that we should go on the gold standard, when faster growth, lower unemployment, and a bigger demand for his products would be very beneficial to him?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com