The 80 best phrases of Paul Krugman

Sometimes we can find inspiration in the least expected places. This is the case of Paul Krugman, the renowned Professor of Economics and International Affairs, who has been honored with honors and awards thanks to his opinions, views and writings on the impact of the economy on world geography.

Do you want to know how this economist can inspire you with his thoughts? Then do not miss this article where we will show you the best phrases of Paul Krugman.

• It may interest you: "The 75 best famous phrases of Adam Smith"

Paul Krugman and his influential ideas

His path has always been economics and that is the path for which he is now known., but above all, the one that has taken him so far as to be worthy of a Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel.

However, his greatest contributions are that we do not need to always and rigidly support a idea if over time we perceive that it has taken a different course or something negative than imagined. As it was with his beliefs about free trade.

• Plus: "The 45 best phrases about Economics and Finance"

Best Paul Krugman Quotes

Learn a bit of the hard wisdom of this economist who has influenced and unveiled the realities of the financial world. Here you have our selection with the best phrases of the economist Paul Krugman.

1. It is not worth having a reform if it is obtained by making so many concessions that it ends up condemning it to failure

Reforms must always benefit the people.

2. Appeal to the intellectually insecure is also more important than it sounds. Because the economy affects so much of life, everyone wants to have an opinion

Everyone wants to give their opinion, even if they don't know about it

3. For the vast majority of people, the process of fixing the economy should not be painful or involve sacrifices.

Because the economy must ensure our tranquility, not our restlessness.

4. My favorite zombie is the belief that lowering taxes on the rich makes the economy grow and generates wealth that ends up spreading to the entire population

Taxes should be balanced according to the possibility of who pays them.

5. What you really should be looking for, in a world that always confronts us with unpleasant surprises; it is intellectual integrity: the predisposition to face the facts; even when they disagree with your ideas, and the ability to admit mistakes and change course

Integrity is what makes us people of value.

6. Ending this depression would be an experience that would make almost everyone feel good, just except for those who are steeped politically, emotionally and professionally, in economic doctrines stubborn

You have to understand that it is those who are in a high position, those who benefit from an unstable economy.

7. Many say, for example, that admission criteria, even at elite universities, have been lowered considerably

Now it seems that only those who can afford it are entering education.

8. When monetary expansion is ineffective, fiscal expansion, such as loan-financed public works programs, must take its place. Such fiscal expansion can break the vicious cycle of low spending and low income.

Social programs can help people, but at a high price to the economy.

9. But remember that this is by no means a general-purpose policy recommendation; it is essentially a strategy of desperation, a dangerous drug to be prescribed only when the usual over-the-counter remedy of monetary policy has failed

Paul Krugman continues with the previous idea about the imbalance that social benefits can cause.

10. This long term is a wrong guide to understand the present. In the long run we'll all be dead

No matter what our plans are, we must always go with short-term goals.

11. Lowering taxes on the rich does not create wealth, it only serves to make the rich richer

An idea that does not need further explanation.

12. Whose fault is it for the replacement of a serious discussion on world trade with what I have come to regard as "pop internationalism"?

Now the economy is in favor of benefiting whoever is at the forefront, instead of everyone.

13. Why has Europe responded so badly to its crisis? I have already noted part of the answer: many leaders of the continent seem determined to "Hellenize" the story and believe that those in difficulty - not just Greece - have gotten there because of fiscal irresponsibility

Sometimes the best solutions are not suitable for power.

14. It is thought that a third of the people who enter Harvard University would not have been admitted twenty years ago

Is it because now you have to buy each admission?

15. To some extent, of course, it is the result of basic human instincts: laziness. intellectual, even among those who would be seen as wise and profound, it will always be a powerful force.

The drawbacks not only affect the economy of the powerful, but critical thinking.

16. If you dedicate yourself to politics in areas close to the Republican Party, you have to defend these ideas, even if you know they are false

What are you willing to give up to reach the top?

17. Economists pose too easy and useless a task if, in stormy times; the only thing they can tell us is that when the storm passes the waters will have calmed down again

Remember that actions are worth a thousand words.

18. If the problem was fiscal waste, fiscal rectitude should be the solution

Something so simple should be easy to apply, right?

19. And the role of editors, who often prefer what pop internationalists have to say, to eerily ideas should not be ignored. difficult for people who can read national accounts or understand that the trade balance is also the difference between savings and investment.

After all, maintaining a flawless facade is more important to them.

20. I am not a saint but I am willing to pay more taxes

Everyone should work together for a more stable and just economy.

21. At the beginning of the financial crisis, the pranksters said that our relations with China had turned out to be fair and balanced, after all: they sold us poisoned toys and contaminated fish, and we sold them stocks fraudulent

What result can we expect from a relationship that is bad at first?

22. In short, the success of macroeconomic activism, in theory and in practice, has made it possible for free market microeconomics to survive.

The economy is a great vicious circle that feeds itself for better or for worse.

23. The rich spend a lot of money to make people believe that lowering their taxes is good for the entire population

Can money buy necessity?

24. The American Prospect are the same pop internationalists; they deliberately use their magazines as platforms for what amounts to an anti-intellectual crusade

The media, according to Paul, are the primary means of spreading the misinformation they want us to create.

25. The economy is presented as a moral work, but with another twist: in reality, the sins for which we are sorry never took place

Moral trading takes place today or is it just a forgotten utopia

26. If we discovered that some aliens from space were planning to attack us and we had to make a massive montage To defend ourselves from that threat so that inflation and the budget will take a backseat, this crisis would end in 18 months

What are the government's economic priorities?

27. Political conditions have an essential influence on income distribution

How much is our life worth in a country?

28. I believe that as long as fossil fuels are cheap, people will use them and put off a move to new technologies.

Sometimes green and technology solutions are not practical for the economy as it is.

29. We have done very little to solve the problems that caused the Great Recession. We haven't learned our lesson

Instead, it seems that you are trying to minimize something that is of great importance.

30. We are in a situation where the worst seem to be triumphing

In today's society the few scruples seem to excel at integrity.

31. Why doesn't the policy-relevant work seem to conflict with my "real" research? I think it is because I have been able to address policy problems using almost exactly the same method that I use in my most basic work.

Adaptability at the time of work is essential to complete our objectives while avoiding possible problems.

32. If you have not succeeded the first time, try again and again

Perseverance is the foundation of success, getting things done the first time can sometimes be a simple stroke of luck.

33. Workers are much more reluctant to accept, say, that at the end of the month an amount of 5 percent is credited to their account lower than what they received, not to accept an unaltered income whose purchasing power, however, is eroded by the inflation

The population looks only at the big numbers when it comes to money, rather than their true purchasing power.

34. I admit it: I had fun watching right-wingers go wild as health care reform finally became law

When injustices are acted upon, great pleasure is obtained.

35. The absence of social coverage represents one of the main causes of inequality and the loss of social mobility

In order to appease inequality, it is strictly necessary that the policies that seek this reach everyone

36. The objective is not to penalize rich people, it is only to make them pay their share of the financing of public policies that the rest of the population needs.

Taxes on the rich should not be unfair to penalize them, but fair according to their capital to contribute to the State equally.

37. If a collapse occurs tomorrow, the tools to reactivate the economy will be weaker

We are not currently prepared to face an economic crisis.

38. The United States continues to be a privileged place for the richest 5 percent... It is an open society. We treat our elites very well

The Western view continues to praise the rich, making equality further and further away.

39. While the forces of globalization affect all developed countries in the same way, the distribution of income differs from country to country.

The globalized market affects all countries the same in relation to what they will spend, but not in the reward they obtain.

40. Apparently an important part of the citizens believe in a higher truth of a political or religious nature and they think that it does not matter to lie if you serve that higher truth

Much of the population shields their actions under the cloak of false ideals, putting aside their scruples.

41. I think that putting in place universal health coverage, which is something that can be done, is a priority and would represent a great step forward

A public and globalized health system is the next step for the evolution of society.

42. If people are politically stupid it is because there are people very interested in keeping them that way

Those who control politics are not interested in everyone being able to understand it.

43. There is no scientific evidence that raising the minimum wage, up to a certain limit, causes more unemployment

There is still a range in which the minimum wage could be increased without causing problems in the economy.

44. There is an episode in Twilight Zone in which scientists fake an alien invasion to achieve world peace. Well this time we don't need it, what we need it for is to get some fiscal stimulus.

Great causes motivate the development of different economic policies that favor people. As in the case of the end of the 2nd world war in the United States.

45. Productivity is not everything, but in the long run it is almost everything

Being productive in every aspect of our life will help us achieve our goals and happiness.

46. A temporary evolution of ignorance, a period in which our insistence on looking in certain directions makes us unable to see what is right under our noses, it may be the price of progress, an inevitable part of what happens when we try to make sense of the complexity, of the world

To achieve progress, it is necessary to start with the small things, the ones in front of us. It makes no sense to start walking a pyramid from the top.

47. Reality never lived up to what the American dream allowed to wait

We must not let dreams distort our reality, we must dream within what is possible.

48. There is a lot of corruption; there are politicians who allow themselves to be bought, either by those who contribute to their campaign or through personal bribes

Corruption is everywhere, it is impossible to target a single sector of the population.

49. When you are asked to accept a reduction in pay, it is very difficult to know if your boss is taking advantage of you

Accepting a reduction in pay is a leap of faith.

50. The fact is that every successful example of economic development in the last century, every instance of a poor nation reaching a standard of living more or less decent, or at least better, was realized through globalization, that is, through production for the world market, rather than attempting the self-sufficiency.

Currently the best way out of poverty is globalization, being self-sufficient is impossible with current needs.

51. I have friends, political scientists, sociologists, who share an interest in at least certain kinds of science fiction.

No matter how serious a person may seem, we all need an escape from reality.

52. We are not being honest with people if we give the idea that tax cuts pay and pay for themselves

Omitting the truth about economic cuts is still lying

53. The ability of a country to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to increase its output per worker

The standard of living of the countries is conditioned to the productivity of each person.

54. Fighting the recession requires the Fed to respond forcefully; family spending must be increased to compensate for languishing business investment

Ironically, the way to reverse a recession is to spend more to boost the economy.

55. Climate scientists soon see their research not only ignored but persecuted

Investigations to save the environment by threatening the current economic system.

56. The best you can say about economic policy in this depression is that, for the most part, we have avoided a complete repeat of the Great Depression.

The greatest achievement of the modern economy has been not to fall into another great recession.

57. In most cases, perhaps almost all, corruption is more blurred and more difficult to identify

Corruption is so hard to find why there are so many people involved hiding it.

58. Even if the debt limit is raised enough to prevent immediate default, even if the government shutdown is somehow ended, it will only be a temporary postponement

All our debts must be paid, we cannot run away forever.

59. I believe in a relatively egalitarian society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty

To achieve equality, we must limit both poverty and wealth.

60. Above all, we must stop pretending that we are having honest and sincere discussions

Lying about what we think and say will not make us progress.

61. Will we have the willpower to carry out a serious reform of the financial system? If not, the current crisis will not be something specific, but the pattern that future events will follow.

To get out of the global economic crisis, we must abandon this economic system or we will only be making up the future.

62. Politicians are rewarded for holding certain positions, and this makes them defend them more firmly, and even convince themselves that they have not actually bought them

Every man can be bought even without knowing it.

63. I believe in democracy, civil liberties and the rule of law. That makes me liberal and I'm proud of it

We should be proud of who we are and our beliefs

64. But the California precedent continues to unsettle me. Who would have thought that the largest state in the United States, a state whose economy is larger than that of the most countries, except for a few, could just as easily become a republic banana?

Any economy in the world is in constant risk, they will not always be on top.

65. From the outside, it is difficult to see the difference between what they "really" believe and what they are paid to believe

Deceiving people is extremely easy, so we must be very critical and cautious.

66. Once the economy is deeply depressed, households and especially businesses may not be willing to increase spending no matter how much cash they have, they can simply add any monetary expansion to their board directive

Although the way to revive the economy in a depression is spending, many will not spend for fear of losing everything.

67. Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth

Politics never seeks the truth, it only seeks power to build its truth.

68. The idea that honesty when facing reality is a virtue seems to have disappeared from public life

Honesty seems obsolete today

69. Stories of people rising out of poverty and becoming rich are very, very rare

In our economic system, getting out of poverty is almost impossible, so we need a change.

70. The only way to make sense of what happened is to see the vote as an expression of, well, identity politics.

The vote is a representation of the ideals of each person, it will help us predict the course of things

71. The origins of our suffering are relatively trivial in the order of the universe, and could be fixed relatively quickly and easily if there were enough people in positions of power who understood the reality

To solve the problems, we need our leaders to understand them.

72. No one is perfectly honest, but the blatant sea of ​​lies we suffer now is something new

Absolute sincerity has never existed, but the society that dismisses it is mediocre.

73. Such a situation, in which monetary policy has become ineffective, has become known as a "liquidity trap"

The funny thing is that economic policy often gets us into them.

74. The uninsured today are young people or young families

Security for necessities has become another luxury.

75. Technology is our friend. We have within our reach to have a low emission economy at a very low cost

The correct use of technology can help boost the economy.

76. How reassuring, then, to be told that everything is irrelevant, that all you really need to know is a few simple ideas!

Life is simpler than it seems, the difficult thing is to accept it.

77. We are all vulnerable to beliefs that are convenient for us

And to abandon all our values ​​for them.

78. National political conditions thus prevail over globalization

Nothing should be more important to a country than itself and its people.

79. They are not people, but ideas that are vigorously defended by certain politicians and media commentators of communication, usually conservative, and have one characteristic in common: they are totally unfounded

People are a set of all our ideas, good or bad.

80. The idea that there is only one thing called capitalism is not correct

Denying the existence of capitalism today is absurd.