October 25, 2023
Economics in America: An Immigrant’s Perspective
Sir Angus Deaton
Nobel Laureate; Senior Scholar, Princeton University; Eisenhower Professor of Economics and Public and International Affairs Emeritus, Princeton University
Economics in America: An Immigrant’s Perspective
Sir Angus Deaton
Nobel Laureate; Senior Scholar, Princeton University; Eisenhower Professor of Economics and Public and International Affairs Emeritus, Princeton University
Introducer: Mickey Weyeneth/ Speaker: Angus Deaton
Minutes of the Eighth Meeting of the 82nd Year
On Wednesday, October 35, 2023, the Old Guard met with John Cotton presiding. The invocation was led by Frances Slade. The minutes of the October 18th meeting on Perspectives on Governing Princeton by Mark Freda were read by Irving Leighton Newlin. One hundred thirty members were in attendance. The following guests were introduced: Joan Sichel (Marge D’Amico); Bill Lashbrook (Rober Fraser); Barbara Abramson (Bernard Abramson); Jim Farrin (Dick Scribner); Art and Mary Jensen (Everett Kline).
Micky Weyeneth introduced our speaker, Nobel Prize winner Sir Angus Deaton, Princeton professor emeritus, who has published widely. Sir Angus’s Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality might be considered a modern version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic Democracy in America.
Sir Angus mused whether economists were like accountants, but more boring. He spoke of the wide range of economists and their relevance to addressing broad economic-related issues.
He provided examples of some highly regarded economists who were traditionalists and sought to squash more adventuresome economists. Three Nobel economists at the same presentation ceremony vigorously argued with one another.
Sir Angus, a multi-dimensional economist, identifies himself with John Maynard Keynes: “The political problem of mankind: how to combine three things—economic efficiency, social justice, and individual liberty."
This has sparked his focus, with Anne Case, on the wide gap of life expectancy between those Americans with and without a four-year college degree. They conclude that this group falls between the cracks of federal, state, and local government.
Sir Angus pointed out that economists who focus on economic growth tend to overlook ancillary impacts, including this large group that has become increasingly abandoned in economic modeling.
While elitists might say that everyone can be successful, Sir Angus noted that this is greatly affected by where and how you grow up—community, financial well-being, and educational access.
Sir Angus said that for an immigrant from a wealthy country, the American health care system is a shock. It consumes almost one-fifth of America’s GDP, with life expectancy for the lower quartile 14 years below that of four-year college graduates.
He noted that there were six healthcare lobbyists in Washington for every member of Congress and that their focus certainly was not the inequalities of the system.
Sir Angus finds the United States a darker society than when he moved here in 1983. He is deeply concerned by the corruption of the American economy and its politics, a corruption that threatens American democracy.
Sir Angus observes that the richer are getting richer at the expense of everyone else. He sees a significant role for economists to highlight the inequalities of an economy that too often is measured by annual economic growth.
He is modestly encouraged by some initiatives of the Biden administration, including obliging pharmaceutical companies to negotiate prices with Medicare. He is also encouraged by the recent upswing in unionization.
Answering a question concerning the inequality rise, Sir Angus noted the problems with the lack of taxation on inheritance and the issue of a so-called “wealth tax."
On Wednesday, October 35, 2023, the Old Guard met with John Cotton presiding. The invocation was led by Frances Slade. The minutes of the October 18th meeting on Perspectives on Governing Princeton by Mark Freda were read by Irving Leighton Newlin. One hundred thirty members were in attendance. The following guests were introduced: Joan Sichel (Marge D’Amico); Bill Lashbrook (Rober Fraser); Barbara Abramson (Bernard Abramson); Jim Farrin (Dick Scribner); Art and Mary Jensen (Everett Kline).
Micky Weyeneth introduced our speaker, Nobel Prize winner Sir Angus Deaton, Princeton professor emeritus, who has published widely. Sir Angus’s Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality might be considered a modern version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic Democracy in America.
Sir Angus mused whether economists were like accountants, but more boring. He spoke of the wide range of economists and their relevance to addressing broad economic-related issues.
He provided examples of some highly regarded economists who were traditionalists and sought to squash more adventuresome economists. Three Nobel economists at the same presentation ceremony vigorously argued with one another.
Sir Angus, a multi-dimensional economist, identifies himself with John Maynard Keynes: “The political problem of mankind: how to combine three things—economic efficiency, social justice, and individual liberty."
This has sparked his focus, with Anne Case, on the wide gap of life expectancy between those Americans with and without a four-year college degree. They conclude that this group falls between the cracks of federal, state, and local government.
Sir Angus pointed out that economists who focus on economic growth tend to overlook ancillary impacts, including this large group that has become increasingly abandoned in economic modeling.
While elitists might say that everyone can be successful, Sir Angus noted that this is greatly affected by where and how you grow up—community, financial well-being, and educational access.
Sir Angus said that for an immigrant from a wealthy country, the American health care system is a shock. It consumes almost one-fifth of America’s GDP, with life expectancy for the lower quartile 14 years below that of four-year college graduates.
He noted that there were six healthcare lobbyists in Washington for every member of Congress and that their focus certainly was not the inequalities of the system.
Sir Angus finds the United States a darker society than when he moved here in 1983. He is deeply concerned by the corruption of the American economy and its politics, a corruption that threatens American democracy.
Sir Angus observes that the richer are getting richer at the expense of everyone else. He sees a significant role for economists to highlight the inequalities of an economy that too often is measured by annual economic growth.
He is modestly encouraged by some initiatives of the Biden administration, including obliging pharmaceutical companies to negotiate prices with Medicare. He is also encouraged by the recent upswing in unionization.
Answering a question concerning the inequality rise, Sir Angus noted the problems with the lack of taxation on inheritance and the issue of a so-called “wealth tax."