Joseph Stiglitz & Linda Bilmes-Authors of "The Three Trillion Dollar War"

JOSEPH STIGLITZ & LINDA BILMES

Globalization and The Three Trillion Dollar War

Joseph Stiglitz, Professor/Global Thought Committee Chair, Columbia University; Author, Making Globalization Work

Linda Bilmes, Finance Professor, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; Author, Making Globalization Work

Nobel Prize-winner Joseph Stiglitz and budget expert Linda Bilmes discuss the economic impact of the war in Iraq. They discuss the actual costs of the war so far and compare it to the pre-war estimate submitted by the Bush administration. They examine the hidden and unforeseen costs of the war and the often-hidden methods of the funding process itself. “This war is totally financed by deficits, by borrowing,” say Stiglitz. He adds, “This is the first war since the Revolutionary War where we’ve had to turn to foreigners to finance our adventure.” Stilglitz and Bilmes examine the details of deficits, tax cuts, and wartime spending, and look at how U.S. foreign policy affects the economy.

This program was recorded in front of a live audience on March 4, 2008