Exclusive: Stiglitz says Summers "didn’t really think through what he was saying" on inflation

Say it with your chest: "I think he didn’t really think through what he was saying because the irony was that we’ve been in a long period where we’ve been facing lack of aggregate demand at the national and global level," he said in an exclusive interview.

• "So there’s an awful lot of scope to increase demand, both in terms of the American Reinvestment Act and new infrastructure [bill] to bring us back into a more normal world where we don’t face that deficiency of aggregate demand."
• "The irony is that he himself had talked about the secular stagnation, which means a lack of aggregate demand."

Be smart: Stiglitz argues that because the U.S. has such high economic inequality it is in a unique position to tamp down on inflation should it arise because not only can the Fed raise interest rates, but Congress can raise taxes without hitting those still struggling.

• "One of the ironic advantages of having a society with as much distortion inequality as we have is that we can raise a lot of revenue by taxing only those with incomes over $400,000 and corporations," he said.
• "The very fact that there’s so much money at that top gives us a lot of leeway for imposing taxes."