Economics
It’s ‘Mad’ to Worry About Mounting Debt Now, Keynes Scholar Says
- Only way to cut burden is via economic growth, says Skidelsky
- Early end of fiscal support may derail rebound, economists say
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Now is not the time for governments to worry about the massive public debt they’ve run up to fight the pandemic, according to economic historian Robert Skidelsky.
Officials should instead keep programs to support wages and businesses in place temporarily, while preparing for the next stage of policies to revive economic growth and reduce unemployment, said Skidelsky, best known for his three-part biography of the British economist John Meynard Keynes. That could be done through job-guarantee programs, he said.