22 Christina Romer Quotes for You to Enjoy

Christina Romer

American Economist

Born: Dec 25, 1958

Deficit Government People Problem Think You

Related authors: Alan Greenspan Herbert A. Simon John Kenneth Galbraith Milton Friedman Paul A. Volcker Richard Thaler Robert Reich Thomas Sowell

The stock market crash in October 1929 didn't destroy a particularly large amount of wealth or make people highly pessimistic. Rather, it made companies and consumers very unsure about future income, and so led them to stop spending as they waited for more information. Christina Romer

Future People Wealth Made Market Market Crash Spending Destroy About Rather More Consumers Highly Unsure Particularly Make October Waited Led Stock Very Stock Market Stop Crash Information Them Pessimistic Companies Large Income Amount

The most effective way to shake an economy out of a terrible downturn when we're at the zero lower bound is an aggressive change in policy that makes people wake up, say 'this is a new day' and change their expectations. Christina Romer

Day Change People Wake Up Aggressive Way Say Out Shake Bound New Economy Most Terrible New Day Policy Makes Wake Effective Effective Way Up Expectations Lower Zero Downturn

What we're going to do is redouble our efforts on financial regulatory reform, because that has in it sensible things like say on pay, so at least the shareholders are minding the store, sensible things like saying, for heaven's sakes, compensation should be focused on - on long term, so that you don't have rewards for short-term risk-taking. Christina Romer

Saying You Financial Long Pay Minding Our Say Focused Risk-Taking Shareholders Long-Term Term Like Because Least Reform Efforts Going Heaven Rewards Store Sensible Short-Term Should Regulatory Things Compensation

I think where I differ a little bit, we absolutely have to think about the deficit looking down the road. And certainly that's something the president has said that we need to, as the economy recovers, have a plan in place for getting it down. Christina Romer

Looking Down Think President Deficit Bit About Something Recovers Absolutely Road Economy Said Getting Differ Where Place Little Little Bit Plan Certainly Down The Road Need

If you look at the studies coming out of the Congressional Budget Office, the number one thing that's going to blow a hole in the deficit as we go forward 20, 30 years is government spending on healthcare. Christina Romer

The basic idea that if you increase government spending or you cut people's taxes that stimulates the economy and lowers the unemployment rate, is a very widely accepted idea. It's in every economics textbook, that's what we teach our undergraduates, and I certainly try to teach them the truth. Christina Romer

Truth Government You People Try Economics Every Increase Our Spending Rate Idea Economy Accepted Stimulates Government Spending Textbook Very Unemployment Unemployment Rate Them Taxes Cut Teach Certainly Basic Widely

Raising the minimum wage, as President Obama proposed in his State of the Union address, tends to be more popular with the general public than with economists. Christina Romer

If every other store in town is paying workers $9 an hour, one offering $8 will find it hard to hire anyone - perhaps not when unemployment is high, but certainly in normal times. Robust competition is a powerful force helping to ensure that workers are paid what they contribute to their employers' bottom lines. Christina Romer

Competition Will Every Other Ensure High Find Bottom Powerful Powerful Force Town Hour Perhaps Employers Force Robust Hire Lines Normal Times Unemployment Offering Contribute Store Anyone Workers Paid Hard Certainly Paying Helping

Many of my students assume that government protection is the only thing ensuring decent wages for most American workers. But basic economics shows that competition between employers for workers can be very effective at preventing businesses from misbehaving. Christina Romer

Government Competition Protection Economics Assume Ensuring Only Preventing Students Between Most Employers Wages Effective Very American Decent The Only Thing Workers Businesses American Workers Many Shows Thing Basic

Cold-turkey deficit reduction would cause a significant recession. A recent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that going headlong over the cliff would cause our gross domestic product, which has been growing at an annual rate of around 2 percent, to fall at a rate of 2.9 percent in the first half of 2013. Christina Romer

Cause First Half Fall Recession Analysis Our Deficit Deficit Reduction Has-Been Significant Would Percent Rate Over Budget Headlong Annual Around Cliff Reduction Been Domestic Office Going Estimated Which Product Gross Congressional Growing Recent

The right way to deal with a budget problem that was years in the making is by formulating a credible plan to reduce the deficit over time and as the economy is able to withstand the necessary fiscal belt-tightening. That is what President Obama is doing. Christina Romer

Time Problem President President Obama Deficit Way Right Way Obama Able Over Budget Economy Deal Withstand Making Reduce Fiscal Doing Years Plan Credible Right Necessary

As a former member of President Obama's economic team, I have a soft spot for the fiscal stimulus legislation he signed just a month after his inauguration. Christina Romer

Soft Spot President Month Member Signed Obama Economic He Spot Fiscal Stimulus His Legislation Just After Former Inauguration Team Soft

The stimulus legislation, technically known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was a mixture of tax cuts for families and businesses; increased transfer payments, like unemployment insurance; and increased direct government spending, like infrastructure investment. Christina Romer

Government Technically Increased Spending Direct Recovery Investment Like Known Insurance Stimulus Mixture Government Spending Unemployment Families American Legislation Tax Transfer Tax Cuts Infrastructure Cuts Act Payments Businesses

Recent research suggests that New Deal programs may actually have had their primary impact on the economy by influencing consumer and business expectations of future growth and inflation. Christina Romer

Future Business Inflation Research Programs Impact Consumer Had Primary New Economy New Deal Deal Expectations May Influencing Actually Growth Recent

If you think about it, candidate Obama, Sen. Obama, was running on sort of long-run economic issues, like restoring prosperity to the middle class, dealing with the perennial problem of health care in the United States. He talked a lot about the budget deficit, about the need to transition to clean energy. Christina Romer

Health You Class Problem Prosperity Care Energy Think Deficit States Obama Running Restoring About Economic Perennial Clean Clean Energy He Budget Budget Deficit Like Talked Sort Health Care Dealing Issues Lot Candidate Middle Middle Class Transition United United States Need

Honest talk about the deficit is risky. Voters are more enthusiastic about the abstract notion of deficit reduction than about the painful details of accomplishing it. Christina Romer

Deficit Deficit Reduction Details Enthusiastic About More Risky Abstract Voters Talk Reduction Accomplishing Than Notion Painful Honest

Fewer people working means permanently lower tax revenues. Christina Romer

People Permanently Revenues Fewer Tax Tax Revenues Lower Working Means

Making labor less expensive helps firms hire people. Christina Romer

People Making Hire Labor Expensive Less Helps

There's a joke in economics about the drunk who loses his keys in the street but only looks for them under the lightposts. When asked why, he says, 'because that's where the light is.' That's the problem with the deficit. Christina Romer

Climate change and dependence on foreign oil are problems that won't go away on their own. Tabling plans to deal with them doesn't make it easier for companies to plan and invest; it makes it harder. Christina Romer

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