Joseph Stiglitz: The Warren Buffett of Economics

@Thinkerbell The example he quotes refers specifically to the situation at the time of the Clinton administration. And Clinton accepted his view that the numbers could not be fudged then, which was the point of the comment. The change in reporting method was to get a better ongoing reflection of the position. Not just that single snapshot. But Clinton accepted that and didnt shoot the messenger..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

The scale of the chart I found is not fine enough to see what difference there was between the standard CPI and the chained CPI toward the end of Clinton's term in office, but the fact remains that at all later times, the chained CPI has been lower, as indeed common sense would tell us, since chaining includes cheaper substitutions people make when the prices of other goods go up.

It therefore seems to me the good professor was (at best) cherry picking to make a political point of the sort that a news outlet like MSNBC would be only too happy to broadcast.

@Thinkerbell Again, I repeat, his point was the fact that Clinton accepted the change in reporting as unalterable, even though it was politically bad for him. And those are facts. We can argue the correctness of the process. But Clinton didnt, even though the shift was not to his advantage..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

Again, I am not convinced that the chained CPI was indeed bad for Clinton, or if Stiglitz is misremembering, and is referring to something else that may actually have been bad for Clinton.

Furthermore, couldn't Stiglitz have found a better paragon of virtue than Clinton with which to embellish his story (yarn?). 🤭

@Thinkerbell I am not going to second guess Stiglitz here. I assume the actual numbers could be looked up easily enough if you care to. And the change in reporting method would have be noterized somewhere..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

Actually, the change in method did not become law until 2017, long after the Clinton time in question, and then primarily for the purposes of adjusting Social Security payments and tax brackets for inflation.

"Another version of the CPI called the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers has been used to adjust tax brackets for inflation instead of the primary CPI since Congress changed the law in 2017."

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-does-the-government-measure-inflation/

[media=https://youtu.be/EfN7_9V3w2c]
"Though deftly clothed in reason’s hue,
Hey, down, derry-down day,
I fear your words do not ring true,
With a hey down, derry-down day."

@Thinkerbell I refuse to get drawn into a debate on someone elses quote. My only comment is that since the conversation in question would have to have taken place at the end of Clintons first term, you may be looking in the wrong place..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

I don't blame you.
Given the anachronisms of Stiglitz's story (yarn?) and the venue (MSNBC) on which it was presented, I wouldn't try to defend the quote either.

@Thinkerbell Nor am I responsible for the abysmal standard of US media. However, i would be surprised if Stiglitz was that far off. A Bubba was known for his respect for Economics (among Presidents anyway) So maybe it was a different shift in method refered to.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman


Indeed you aren't. But did Stiglitz (and you) have to pick the very worst left-leaning US cable medium? It doesn't help the credibility of his story (yarn?).


I allowed (six comments above) for the possibility of Stiglitz having had a senior moment when he told his Clinton story.