This exclusive interview with Paul Krugman was recorded on November 12, 2009 in SiliconValley. Dr. Krugman was in town to deliver a lecture as part of the Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series. Here are some transcript highights. To listen to the interview click here and or watchvideo.
Alison van Diggelen: Paul thank you very much for joining me on Fresh Dialogues.
Paul Krugman: OK. Good to be doing this.
Alison: Last night, you talked in your lecture of your concern about the unemployment rate. It’s very high and moving higher. In light of Obama’s announcement today about the job summit in DC in December, do you have any advice specific advice for Obama administration, particularly for green jobs?
Paul: Well OK, green jobs I think is going to be a much harder thing to get going. That’s going to take time. That really waits on climate legislation which we won’t get till next year, if we’re lucky.
What he needs to do is get some actual targeted job measures, we need some policies that are aimed at encouraging job creation directly: probably a job tax credit and maybe some subsidies for firms that hang on to jobs. We can learn a little bit from European countries (like)Germany which have been relatively successful in containing the job losses…We just have to get something going…. If I had my druthers, if there were no limits politically, I’d say actually let’s just have a really massive second stimulus plan to get the economy going, but since that’s not going to happen we need some measures that are cheaper, don’t maybe do as much for GDP but create a lot of jobs…
Alison: You said last night he’s been too cautious, Obama has been doing things in half measures. What advice would you give him at this stage?
Paul:This jobs summit can’t be an empty exercise…he can’t come out with a proposal for $10 or $20 Billion of stuff because people will view that as a joke. There has to be a significant job proposal…
Alison: Do you have a minimum he aught to spend?
Paul: There’s no hard and fast number, but if it isn’t several hundred billion dollars…OK, probably it’s not going to be as big as the first stimulus bill and not going to be as big as I think it should be… But I have in mind something like $300 Billion, you could do quite a lot that’s actually targeted on jobs.
Alison: Paul Krugman, thank you very much I really appreciate your taking the time.
Paul: Thank you so much.
Check back soon for more interview segments in which Paul Krugman discusses China, Climate Change and clean technology, the stimulus package, and why he prefers cap and trade over a straight carbon tax. He also explains what gave him that “missionary zeal” to write such fervent columns in the New York Times. To check out more exclusive Fresh Dialogues interviews, click here
On Thursday November 12, I had an exclusive interview with Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. Just hours after President Obama announced the Job Summit, I sought out Krugman’s wisdom and he gave some radical advice to the President. Emphasising that “the Job Summit can’t be an empty exercise,” the renowned economics expert recommends a minimum of $300 Billion be spent by the government to encourage job creation, with a focus on job tax credits and subsidies for companies that retain jobs. For a transcript of the interview, click here or watch video
This is part of a longer interview in which we discussed green jobs, Krugman’s impact on government policy, his future plans and what gives him that “missionary zeal.” Click here for Part Two on China and Climate Change. Check back soon for more interview segments on Fresh Dialogues.
The interview was recorded on November 12, 2009 at the Flint Center, De Anza College, Cupertino. Dr. Krugman was in Silicon Valley to deliver a lecture as part of the Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series.
“It’s not so much about the money, it’s about the kudos of winning the prize; the recognition from the global marine energy industry.” Paul O’Brien, Scottish Development International
The interview was recorded on February 19, 2009 in Scotland. To listen to the full interview, click here
Just back from a whistle-stop trip to Scotland where I was invited by Michael Clouser, at the University of Edinburgh, to give a series of seminars to students and entrepreneurs. These included:
The state of Clean and Green Tech in Silicon Valley – why green tech is still hot, VC opportunities, greening your business, vampire energy, and best green business practices
Drinking the Kool Aid in Silicon Valley– highlights from ten years of interviews, including midas touch Frank Addante; a brief history of Silicon Valley and its ecosystem; its spectacular successes (Google) and failures ( Webvan); what are the lessons for entrepreneurs? Got some cool feedback on this one and delighted to see the turnout exceeded expectations by 3 or 4 times.
Excellent to get a tour of the new Informatics Forum Buildingwhich houses 500 researchers in artificial intelligence, computer science etc. with Dr. Steve Ewing. Amid the gloom in the British economy which has been hit hard by the distastrous performance of the Royal Bank of Scotland (largest corporate loss in UK history last year) and others in the financial sector, there were glimmers of hope among the students and entrepreneurs I met.
One earnest young student, by the name of Ali Eslami approached me after a seminar and explained his hot new idea. Aware that he and all his friends are wasting precious time on Facebook etc. when they should be studying, he’s come up with a cool application: keepmeout. Register those sites you’re addicted to, and it will ping you if you go there too often. Sounds like it might be a useful tool for many of us type A’s here in Silicon Valley.
Another hopeful sign came at my Green Tech masterclass which assembled a group of Scotland-based eco-entrepreneurs, along with two editors from entrepedia , the university’s wiki for entrepreneurs. We had Patrick Hickey from nipht.coman eco-lighting and biolumanescent mushroom (!) developer; Christine Gupta of GuptaPartnership who’s making a name for herself with her blog, MyGreenWheels; David Lawson of EcoMove, Martin Jones of Tantallon Systems, and Alan Blunt, a startup consultant.
After some grumbling about Scottish Enterprise, there was general agreement that the organization is now getting its ducks in a row and is ready to support and nurture early stage startups to full commercialization.
One such startup is led by David Tonery, of Oxy-Gen Combustion, developing a low emission engine he claims offers over 20% increased energy efficiency. He’s received $180K+ in funding from Scottish Enterprise and later this year, is headed to Silicon Valley to do the VC circuit. Smart young guy, from a family of entrepreneurs, and with enthusiastic support from former Scottish Enterprise veteran, John Finlay, I am optimistic he’ll succeed.
One recurring question I faced during Q&A was the issue of “someone stealing my idea.” Despite reassurances from me and others in the room, I fear this cultural gap and reluctance to “go for it” may mean some bright ideas hatched in Scotland don’t see the light of day.
After two days in sunny Edinburgh, I took the train to Glasgow to visit with Paul O’brien of Scottish Development International, a guru of the clean energy sector, who regaled me with all the impressive achievements Scotland has been making in wind, wave and tidal power. He’s bullish that Scotland will be producing 50% of its energy through sustainable means by 2020. More on this in next week’s blog.
I also heard a whisper that Mayor Gavin Newsomis paying the savvy Scots a visit this week to explore opportunities for capturing some of that strong tidal action under Golden Gate Bridge. Wish I could have stayed a few more days to show him round my fair city. Ah…another time Gavin.
It only took six days to change the (clean tech) world.
On January 20th, while the world stopped to watch, President Obama gave a stoic but very powerful Inauguration Address. Instead of the soaring oratory we’ve grown accustomed to, he was somber in his words and delivery, reflecting the gravity of our economic crisis.
From my perspective, the speech has brought nothing but optimism and goodwill from friends and colleagues in Silicon Valley and around the world. I was especially cheered by his promise to restore science to its rightful place in government policy making.
Here are some excerpts of President Obama’s Inauguration Address that underline his commitment to fighting climate change and boosting clean tech:
“…each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.”
“We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.”
“With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.”
On January 26th, President Obama announced his new energy policy at a White House press conference. His words will no doubt bring sighs of relief and even some champagne sloshing to those in the clean tech world, especially electric vehicle manufacturers.
“No single issue is as fundamental to our future as energy. America’s dependence on oil is one of the most serious threats our nation has faced…it funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism and puts the American people at the mercy of shifting gas prices; stifles innovation and sets back our ability to compete.”
He’s also started to follow through this weekon his campaign pledge to allow California and 13 other states to set strict car emissions and fuel efficiency standards. The California Air Resources Board estimates these new standards will cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars 18% by 2020, and 27% by 2030.
This fine president not only talks the green talk, he walks the green walk. Bravo.
