Ta kriza, in v zadnji instanci zdravstvena reforma v ZDA, je pokazala na globoke ideološke razlike med ameriškimi ekonomisti. Na razlike med liberalci in konzervativci. Na razlike med “saltwater” in “freshwater” ekonomisti (prvi so iz vzhodne in zahodne obale (Harvard, MIT, Berkely), drugi pa iz Chicaga). Ki se kažejo tudi kot razlike med “bolj pro-agregatnemu povpraševanju” in “bolj pro-agregatni ponudbi” naklonjenimi ekonomisti. V normalnih časih bi bile te razlike med ekonomisti manj pomembne, v času krize pa so lahko ključne, saj determinirajo izbiro ukrepov ekonomske politike.

Greg Mankiw, konzervativec (in republikanec) na liberalnem Harvardu, je v današnji kolumni v New York Timesu poskušal nakazati, da je za velike projekte potrebno najti kompromis.

This personal history makes me a bit of an outsider wherever I am. Among most of my friends and colleagues here in Massachusetts, I am that oddball conservative. Among most of my family and political allies, I am that oddball from liberal Harvard. Yet hanging out with both Democrats and Republicans has some benefits. One is that I avoid the disdain that each group often feels for the other.

…

That is how I feel every day. While among Republicans, I want to say President Obama’s goal of universal health insurance has a noble motivation, and it is impossible to achieve without a significant expansion in the role of government. While among Democrats, I want to say President Obama has vastly oversold the Affordable Care Act. The law is unlikely to reduce the cost of health care as promised, will shrink the economy by increasing implicit marginal tax rates and will, by virtue of its scope and complexity, lead to numerous other unintended consequences.

…

How to apply this lesson to national politics is far from clear. Perhaps it suggests that the best policies are those that transcend traditional partisan divides. Ronald Reagan’s 1986 tax reform and Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform were major legislative achievements that garnered support from both sides of aisle. By contrast, the vote on President Obama’s 2010 health care reform was entirely one-sided, so it is no surprise that the law is still the source of much rancor.

Vir: Greg Mankiw, New York Times

Tja, lepo in prav, ampak kakšen pa je možen kompromis v primeru ameriške zdravstvene reforme? V primerjavi s kanadsko ali evropsko ureditvijo obveznega splošnega zdravstvenega zavarovanja se zdi ameriški ACA (ObamaCare) kot en sam velik kompromis.

In kakšen kompromis je možen v primeru ekonomske politike? Dosedanja fiskalna politika ZDA (z dokaj omejenim stimulusom na eni strani in ohranitvijo olajšav za premožnejše na drugi strani) ter pragmatična monetarna politika Fed se zdita en sam velik kompromis med dvema ekonomskima konceptoma. Razen seveda, če konzervativni pol ekonomistov meni, da je evropska “austerijanska” fiskalna politika v preteklih treh letih (s posledično recesijo, povečanjem brezposelnosti in povečevanjem javnega dolga) lahko zgled pametne ekonomske politike v času krize povpraševanja.

Hja, jaz bi vseeno raje imel ameriško fiskalno politiko v zadnjih treh letih in posledično gospodarsko rast, zmanjševanje brezposelnosti ter zmanjševanje proračunskega deficita.