Paul Krugman: Rich People Want To Be Praised 'As The Salvation Of The Rest Of Us'

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said in an interview with Reuters on Monday: "I think what really rich people want to buy often is they want the world to praise them for their wealth, so they want economic theories that praise rich people as the salvation of the rest of us."

Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has a theory about the super-rich: They just want to be loved.

"If you're really, really rich, an additional dollar, an additional hundred million dollars doesn't matter too much for you. But feeling that you are being respected -- it matters a lot," the Princeton professor and New York Times columnist, said in an interview with Reuters on Monday.

"I think what really rich people want to buy often is they want the world to praise them for their wealth, so they want economic theories that praise rich people as the salvation of the rest of us."

Krugman went on to say that the wealthy support Republican economic policies both because they want more money for themselves and they want everyone to respect them.

"It's not just that they don't want to pay higher taxes, they also want everyone to respect them," Krugman added. "President Obama has very gently hinted that maybe not everything that Wall Street does is in the interest of society, and they've gone berserk."

Krugman warned that the rich may be pushing for policies that are actually detrimental to them. Since John F. Kennedy's presidency, the U.S. economy has gained around 42 million private jobs during Democratic presidencies, compared to roughly 24 million during Republican ones, according to a Bloomberg study.

"It’s actually a pretty overwhelming thing that Wall Street does better under Democrats than it does under Republicans. Better economic management, whatever, but the historical record is pretty clear," Krugman said. "I suspect if we ever get the full Republican menu of policies, you'll have an awful lot of people in the financial industry wailing because things will go very badly for them."

Krugman said that rising income inequality has helped make the super-rich more influential in Washington.

"What now passes for orthodox policy on the right is pretty much the kind of crank economics that eccentric billionaires on the right were preaching 40 years ago," Krugman said. "So what's happened is that these kinds of crank doctrines have been mainstreamed."

Comments

[Joe Cronley]

01:53 PM on 11/12/2012

I had to reread Dr. Krugman's biographical sketch - I had no idea he is a psychologist as well as an economist! What I read was evidently not updated, as it made no reference to his doctoral work in psychology, or perhaps medicine, whatever field it is that gives him such keen insight into the human psyche.

Please remember that the figures quoted for job growth were the writer's, not Dr. Krugman's. Go read the Bloomberg piece. I do hope he would not cherry-pick data the way the writer did, such as failing to adjust for growth in the employment market.

And Dr. Krugman's dismissal of "the kind of crank economics that eccentric billionaires on the right were preaching 40 years ago" is a dismissal of fellow Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman (1976), whose scholarship and intuition spawned The Chicago School and have stood the test of time. Those of us alive in 2032, when Dr. Krugman's medal has 36 years on it, will see whether history will revere Dr. Krugman and The Princeton School, or if historians say, "Well, they pretty much have to give an award every year, so they picked this guy."

[dubgroove]

02:38 PM on 01/13/2013

"The Chicago School and have stood the test of time." You have got to be kidding me.... Read Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine if you can manage to not be confused with facts having made up your mind...

[AndyAdams53]

09:04 PM on 05/15/2012

Bill Moyer's last journalistic voicing was to state that the United States has become a plutocracy; Paul Krugman is saying the same thing without giving a name to the condition or stating what has become a reality.

[Deborah Silver Goodman]

04:42 PM on 05/12/2012

So, the question is do they want respect because they del they deserve it, or do they fell disrespected because they are wealthy, or do they inwardly feel shame about being wealthy? There are many reasons why people want respect..not just the wealthy. What is so valuable about respect, and why do people feel they need it? I always thought ones actions trigger the thought, feelings and judgements of others. Not how much money one has. From my own experiences and observations,, it appears that ,often, the very wealthy actually believe they are special and act so, for no reason other than having money, which is in fact, is delusional.I have also noticed that rich people have no clue as to how transparent their behavior is b the everyday wage earner. Unfortunately, an unhealthy percentage of people in our society pay much attention to those who are wealthy, or in the public eye, further boosting and encouraging an already demented narcissistic thought process. I have found many wealthy people to actually be very boring, self involved in their very uninteresting lives, and completely oblivious to the nuanced environment in which they live.
If someone, anyone, wants respect, ask yourself why? You will find both the answer to that question, and also the answer to why you do not have it, on the same shelf. The me me me shelf. No one gets respect without giving it.

[Ginger Marie]

11:08 PM on 05/11/2012

The West will be defeated in 10 yrs if the banksters get their way!

[Ginger Marie]

11:07 PM on 05/11/2012

Krugman is a Seer!!!!

[Ginger Marie]

11:07 PM on 05/11/2012

KRUGMAN KRUGMAN KRUGMAN!
Less regulation? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Emereaux]

01:09 PM on 05/11/2012

Makes a lot of sense! Just look at how needy Donald Trump is....even with all his money.

[dbackl]

11:55 PM on 05/10/2012

I don't think Paul is going far enough when he says ther rich "want the world to praise them"

Just finished watching the new Avenger’s movie (good fun) and realized the powerful not only want praise, they want to be worshipped – and this is not just because theya are "the salvation of the rest of us" but think that this is their do because they are superior to the rest of us.

Not exactly the basis for a sound democracy ... but is is the foundation for a "House of Lords"

[Nimbo]

02:42 PM on 05/10/2012

Krugman would have us all bartering if he could....

[moogoogourami]

10:38 AM on 05/11/2012

Wat??? How do you arrive at that conclusion? Seriously. I'd like to understand your logic.

[justobserve]

08:27 AM on 05/10/2012

Argh! The GOPers don't want to know that under Democratic presidencies the economy has gained 42 millions private jobs while under the GOP's only 24 millions!

[Ludwig Friedman]

08:07 PM on 05/09/2012

To fight this recession the Fed needs more than a snapback; it needs soaring household spending to offset moribund business investment. And to do that, as Paul McCulley of Pimco put it, Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the Nasdaq bubble

Paul Krugman, economics nobel laureate
Published: August 02, 2002

[aforesti]

08:26 PM on 05/09/2012

In case you didn't get it, in this quote Krugman is mocking Greenspan's management of the economy (creating a new bubble in order to solve the mess from the previous one bursting)

[Ludwig Friedman]

09:22 PM on 05/09/2012

bulshit!

his comment about it:

Guys, read it again. It wasn’t a piece of policy advocacy, it was just economic analysis. What I said was that the only way the Fed could get traction would be if it could inflate a housing bubble. And that’s just what happened.

[CreateAnAccount]

07:17 PM on 05/09/2012

Krugman is living in a fantasy land. Maybe if he came down to my Fortune 500 CEO Office and saw how hard I worked from 10am-2pm he would then understand why I make 600 times more than the average workers salary in my company.

Doesn't he realize that I work 600 times harder? 600 times smarter? Doesn't he know that I reinvented the week, so that I could work 10 days a week? or 520 days a year? (well, not exactly...it's more like 3 days a week...ok...3 hours...twice a week...but i'm really smart...I was given a free ride to my dad's school, harvard...but i didn't graduate...there was this hooker, you see and, well...it doesn't matter).

Wait till I call my daddy...Krugman's gonna get it!

[Emereaux]

01:11 PM on 05/11/2012

Love you post! Made me laugh out loud!! I'd fan you again if I could. Favved!

[dragonflier]

05:11 PM on 11/09/2012

600 x's ? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? You're "really smart"? And to whom do you give credit for that "fact"?

[had410]

06:03 PM on 05/09/2012

OFF TOPIC- Is there a trick to deleting my notifications? I hit delete and nothing happens.

[AmericanPatriotism]

05:34 PM on 05/09/2012

This man is a socialist and I'm tired of the huffingtonpost publishing his lies! Considering their past record of publicizing the left, I'm surprised they haven't published any articles recently from Lenin or Trotsky

[Rodger leMonde]

05:59 PM on 05/09/2012

Now if you only knew what socialism is and how it works to protect your other values favorites.
Capitalism draws in diversity, new idea, social mobility, education and many more of the things you decry as problems with our government. By the way Lenin and Trotsky are dead, not much in the news these days..

[CreateAnAccount]

06:43 PM on 05/09/2012

I'm with ya brother...i just wish there was a way we could line all these commies up against a wall and *pop* 'em all off, eh?

There's nothing I can't stand more than someone's right to free speech. Especially when it hurts my poor wittle heady.

I want my lies to come from good ol boys, like limbaugh and o'reilly...they help me to stop sucking my thumb and rocking back and forth, back and forth...

[ogis]

07:00 PM on 05/09/2012

I just think it is so funny that "Red China" whipped us in the market place!

[OldTulsan]

04:19 PM on 05/09/2012

Note similarities to the present...

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/frenchrev/summary.html
SparkNotes­: The French Revolution (1789-1799­): Summary of Events

"No one factor was directly responsibl­e for the French Revolution­. Years of feudal oppression and fiscal mismanagem­ent contribute­d to a French society that was ripe for revolt. Noting a downward economic spiral in the late 1700s, King Louis XVI brought in a number of financial advisors to review the weakened French treasury. Each advisor reached the same conclusion­—that France needed a radical change in the way it taxed the public—and each advisor was, in turn, kicked out.

Finally, the king realized that this taxation problem really did need to be addressed, so he appointed a new controller general of finance, Charles de Calonne, in 1783. Calonne suggested that, among other things, France begin taxing the previously exempt nobility. The nobility refused, even after Calonne pleaded with them during the Assembly of Notables in 1787. Financial ruin thus seemed imminent.
The Estates-Ge­neral

In a final act of desperatio­n, Louis XVI decided in 1789 to convene the Estates-Ge­neral, an ancient assembly consisting of three different estates that each represente­d a portion of the French population­. If the Estates-Ge­neral could agree on a tax solution, it would be implemente­d. However, since two of the three estates—th­e clergy and the nobility—w­ere tax-exempt­, the attainment of any such solution was unlikely..­."