Remember When Everyone Was Terrified About the Carry Trade? New Score.

It’s very difficult to convey how different the conversation was back then. Here’s a 2010 op-ed by Peter Orszag arguing that “much more deficit reduction, enacted now, to take effect in two to three years” as well as “an improvement in the relationship between business and government” are both necessary to boost the short-term economy. (He also argues against QE2 because monetary expansion might help prevent a Grand Bargain on the budget.) When researching this piece, Josh Bivens reminded me the administration was freaking out in 2009 about how the “carry trade” could cause interest rates to spike at a moment’s notice, an argument that seems ridiculous with rates so low six years later.

All the centrists got was a counterproductive spending cut, one the GOP immediately reneged, and none of their actual goals. And now their arguments are completely absent from the debate right now. I hope you check it out!