Latest news with #JosephStiglitz
CBS News
02-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Budget bill would add trillions to U.S. debt and increase inequality, Nobel laureate economists say
Trump "one, big beautiful bill" holdout Sen. Rand Paul says "the math doesn't really add up" Six Nobel laureate economists said a massive budget bill passed by House lawmakers last month and backed by President Trump would weaken key safety-net programs while greatly lifting the federal debt. The tax and spending package, which Republicans have dubbed the "one big beautiful bill," would hurt millions of Americans by slashing Medicaid and food stamps, the economists wrote in a June 2 letter on behalf of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. "Even with the safety net cuts, the House bill leads to public debt rising by over $3 trillion in coming years (and over $5 trillion over the next decade if provisions are made permanent rather than phasing out)," the economists state. "The higher debt and deficits will put noticeable upward pressure on both inflation and interest rates in coming years." The authors of the letter are Daron Acemoglu, Peter Diamond and Simon Johnson of MIT; Oliver Hart of Harvard University; Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University; and Paul Krugman of City University of New York. Including interest, the House bill would boost the nation's debt by $3.1 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, an advocacy group focused on fiscal policy. The nation's rising deficit — the gap between annual government spending and revenue — and growing federal debt have sounded alarms on Wall Street, roiling financial markets and raising questions about the country's long-term financial stability. The Trump administration describes the budget package as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to cut government spending and drive economic growth. Senate hurdles The Senate is expected to take up the bill this week, and its fate is uncertain amid strong opposition from Democrats and concerns by some Republicans. "One of the things this 'big and beautiful bill' is, is, it's a vehicle for increasing spending for the military and for the border," Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Paul is among a small group of Senate Republicans who have expressed opposition to the bill. "It's about $320 billion in new spending. To put that in perspective, that's more than all the DOGE cuts that we have found so far," he added, referring to reductions in government spending advanced by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. "So, the increase in spending put into this bill exceeds the DOGE cuts." Raising inequality? The six economists who penned the letter criticizing the Republican bill also said that large tax cuts under the legislation, combined with the hits to Medicaid and food stamps, would increase inequality. "The combination of cuts to key safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP and tax cuts disproportionately benefiting higher-income households means that the House budget constitutes an extremely large upward redistribution of income," they said. Mr. Trump has said the proposed tax cuts, which would extend reductions passed under his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, would boost workers and incentivize investment in domestic manufacturing. The White House Council of Economic Advisers claims that the Trump administration's policies, which include steep import tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, will supercharge growth and shrink the deficit. contributed to this report.
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
UK-US Trade deal is playing into Trump's ‘divide and conquer' strategy says Nobel Prize-winning economist
A Nobel Prize-winning economist has said that the latest UK -US trade deal is 'playing into Trump's strategy.' "I would view it as playing into Trump's strategy," said leading economist Joseph Stiglit on Sky News on 11 May. "His strategy is divide and conquer, go after the weakest countries, and sort of put the stronger countries in the back" he added. Donald Trump unveiled a "historic agreement" with the UK, the culmination of Sir Keir Starmer 's months-long charm offensive towards the US president. (9 May)
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK-US Trade deal is playing into Trump's ‘divide and conquer' strategy says Nobel Prize-winning economist
A Nobel Prize-winning economist has said that the latest UK-US trade deal is 'playing into Trump's strategy.' "I would view it as playing into Trump's strategy," said leading economist Joseph Stiglit on Sky News on 11 May. "His strategy is divide and conquer, go after the weakest countries, and sort of put the stronger countries in the back" he added. Donald Trump unveiled a "historic agreement" with the UK, the culmination of Sir Keir Starmer's months-long charm offensive towards the US president. (9 May)
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Government wants to ‘go further' with US trading relationship, says Cooper
The Government wants 'to go further in terms of the trading relationship with the US', the Home Secretary has said, as an American economist warned the deal struck with Donald Trump this week 'isn't worth the paper it's written on'. Joseph Stiglitz told Sky News that had the UK worked with the EU on a deal, 'you could have done better than what you've done'. On Friday, Donald Trump's press secretary insisted the president will stand firm on the blanket 10% tariff on most UK imports into the US, telling reporters he is 'committed' to the levy. It came after Thursday's deal which cut taxes on car imports of 100,000 a year from 27.5% to 10%, and also reduced tariffs on steel and aluminium through quotas. Asked whether Mr Trump is taking the UK for a ride, Ms Cooper pressed the importance of the deal for car manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover. 'Clearly we want to go further in terms of the trading relationship with the US,' she told Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips. 'We are an outward-looking trading nation, so trade is important,' she said, as she declined to get into a 'running commentary' on discussions with the EU. Speaking to the same programme, Mr Stiglitz said that 'any agreement with Trump isn't worth the paper it's written on' . Asked whether the UK should focus on building its relationship with the EU, the economist said 'very much so'. He added: 'My view is that if you had worked with the EU to get a good deal you could have done better than what you've done.' The shadow home secretary said it is 'good that the terrible punitive tariffs' have been eased, but described this week's agreement as 'a very narrow deal'. 'What was agreed last week is not a comprehensive trade deal,' Chris Philp told the same Sky News show. '[It] is a very narrow deal, talking mainly about tariffs. 'While it's good that the terrible punitive tariffs that have been in place for a few weeks have been eased, as the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey said, the level of tariffs that are now being charged on UK exports going into America are higher under this new deal, so-called deal, than they were at the beginning of the year.' Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Sky News
11-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
UK-US trade deal 'isn't worth the paper it's written on', Nobel Prize-winning economist tells Sky News
A Nobel Prize-winning economist has told Sky News the recently announced UK-US trade deal "isn't worth the paper it's written on". Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump announced the "first-of-a-kind" agreement with a live, televised phone call earlier this week - and the British prime minister hailed the deal as one that will save thousands of jobs in the UK. Politics latest: Tories criticise proposals to tackle immigration But leading economist Joseph Stiglitz has told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips he "wouldn't view [the deal] as a great achievement". "Any agreement with Trump isn't worth the paper it's written on," he said, pointing out the president signed deals with Canada and Mexico during his first term - only to slap them with hiked tariffs within days of returning to the White House this year. "I would view it as playing into Trump's strategy," he said. "His strategy is divide and conquer, go after the weakest countries, and sort of put the stronger countries in the back." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:45 How good is the UK-US deal? The scramble to secure a UK-US trade deal was sparked by Mr Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcement last month, which saw the president hike import tariffs for multiple countries and subsequently send global markets crashing. China initially faced tariffs of 34% and when Beijing hit the US with retaliatory rates, a trade war quickly ensued. The US and China now impose tariffs of above 100% on each other, but representatives from the two countries have this weekend met for high-stakes negotiations. Read more: Key details in the UK-US deal Analysis - the challenge Starmer faces Image: Donald Trump, with US vice president JD Vance and Britain's ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, announcing the deal. Pic: AP Image: Sir Keir Starmer dialled in for the deal announcement. Pic: AP With its response to Mr Trump, Beijing "made it very clear that the US is very dependent on China in so many ways," Mr Stiglitz said. "So they're beginning now to negotiate, but from a position of strength." Spreaker This content is provided by Spreaker , which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies. To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only. Enable Cookies Allow Cookies Once 👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Asked if he thinks the UK should have focused on its relationship with the EU instead of the US, Mr Stiglitz said: "Very much so. "My view is that if you had worked with the EU to get a good deal, you could have done better than what you've done. "If it turns out, in the end, when you work it all out, Trump is unhappy, he'll run. If he's unhappy, I pray for you." Among the terms in the UK-US trade deal are reduced tariffs on British car and steel exports to the US, while the UK has agreed to remove a tariff on ethanol, used to produce beer. The agreement also opens a new agricultural exchange, with US farmers being given access to the UK for the first time - though UK food standards on imports have not been weakened.
