A decade ago, a prominent analysis was falsely cast as a call for austerity. Our real offence was suggesting there might be a trade-off between debt and growth
It’s not easy being a centrist economist in today’s polarised, social media-driven world, where every idea is quickly forced into one ideological camp or another. To paraphrase a remark often attributed to Leon Trotsky, centrist economists may not be interested in war but war is interested in them.
My 2016 book The Curse of Cash, which explored the past, present and future of money, is a case in point. After its publication, I received more than 20 death threats, some clearly from drug dealers and gun owners outraged by my call to phase out $100 bills, and others from crypto evangelists who considered my support for regulation an act of treason.
Continue reading…A decade ago, a prominent analysis was falsely cast as a call for austerity. Our real offence was suggesting there might be a trade-off between debt and growthIt’s not easy being a centrist economist in today’s polarised, social media-driven world, where every idea is quickly forced into one ideological camp or another. To paraphrase a remark often attributed to Leon Trotsky, centrist economists may not be interested in war but war is interested in them.My 2016 book The Curse of Cash, which explored the past, present and future of money, is a case in point. After its publication, I received more than 20 death threats, some clearly from drug dealers and gun owners outraged by my call to phase out $100 bills, and others from crypto evangelists who considered my support for regulation an act of treason. Continue reading…