Is the Rising National Deficit Bad? Are the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Good Economic Indicators? Inflation and Interest Rates? GDP?: Q&A with Nancy Wu

POC Podcast - Progressive Opinions of Color

Economist Nancy answers all your questions about the economy!
S&P 500 and Nasdaq at record highs (and as of 9/3, dropping again)? What is GDP and is it the right measure of an economy's success? What are alternatives to GDP? What's up with the rising deficit? Will we have inflation? What about interest rates?
(1:15)- What are flaws of using the S&P 500, Dow Jones, or NASDAQ to measure the economy?
(1:45)- What are these stock indices?
(3:15) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq set new records in September, showing optimism in the economy.
(4:00) - THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT THE ECONOMY! The economy is still far from recovering. 16 million people are still unemployed.
(4:45) - THESE INDICES ARE NOT THE STOCK MARKET! These indices give disproportionate weight to tech.
(5:30) - How should we be measuring the strength of the economy, if not the stock market? What is GDP?
(5:45) - Downfalls of GDP. What does high GDP mean for the environment?
(7:15) - Alternatives to GDP: Andrew Yang's human metrics and Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economics theory.
(9:10) - My thoughts on how to measure economic success.
(9:30) - Is the national deficit increasing not a problem or a huge problem? I’ve heard both!
(9:45) - Difference between deficit and debt.
(10:00) - What the media is saying about the dangers of rising deficits and it's all bullshit.
(11:00) - Debt to GDP.
(11:15) - Deficit in the context of the CARES Act and COVID.
(11:40) - Goal of deficits is to raise GDP and prevent a WORSE AND LONGER RECESSION.
(12:00) - Interest rates are low. What that means for the deficit and debt.
(12:30) - When stimulus packages work: is the economy demand constrained or supply constrained?
(13:45) - SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT INFLATION?
(14:10) - What happened to the economy during COVID?
(15:30) - How do we finance the stimulus? Not taxes!
(15:50) - Inflation again, and interest rates.
(17:25) - My thoughts on dumb economics and politicians. What is the goal here? To ensure that people have necessary resources, not an artificial metric that critics don't even understand!
(19:25) - My investment strategy with index funds and S&P 500 long term investment and returns for retirement.
Contact Nancy at:
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Welcome to Progressive Opinions of Color (POC), a podcast that seeks to create space for more people of color in politics and economics. With the 2020 presidential election coming up and the state of the economy during COVID-19, it is more important than ever to think about who we include in the conversations about politics and economics. I am Nancy Wu, your host. I’m also an Asian American woman, an economist, and a huge politics and policy nerd. I triple majored in Economics, Government (Political Science) and Gender Studies at Dartmouth and have a Master’s in Development Economics from Oxford. I work as an Economist full time and have previously worked in economic policy at the White House (under Obama, of course) and progressive think tanks. The goal of this podcast is to engage the Asian American community and other POC and BIPOC voices in an industry that is so heavily represented by old white men. The POC Podcast will host conversations on the 2020 Presidential Election, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the coronavirus pandemic, the state of the economy, and other pressing topics in politics, economics, and culture, all through perspectives inclusive of the lived experiences of people of color. Whether you're new to politics or already a huge politics nerd, I hope this podcast inspires community and conversation among us. Join me in reimagining politics and economics with underrepresented voices. The economy is complicated enough. Learn

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