The New Liberal Podcast Breaking Down the Big Beautiful Bill ft. Jason Furman & Ben Ritz
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Jun 18, 2025 
Jason Furman, an esteemed economist from Harvard and former chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisors, joins Ben Ritz, a policy development expert at PPI, to delve into the implications of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill. They explore how the bill could blow up the deficit, assess the Biden administration's fiscal strategies, and debate the impact of various tax cut proposals. The conversation also highlights the fragile nature of economic dynamics and warns against overlooking historical precedents for sustainable solutions.
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Deficits Have Present Costs
- Large deficits increase inflation and interest rates, which causes present and future economic pain.
- Fiscal policy trade-offs have real-time effects, not just future costs.
Misjudging Inflation's Political Impact
- Policymakers underestimated public hatred of inflation due to decades of stable prices.
- The surprise inflation starting in 2021 exposed a failure to anticipate structural changes and risks.
Big Beautiful Bill's Huge Deficit Impact
- The "Big Beautiful Bill" would increase deficits by over $3 trillion with gimmicks hiding some costs.
- If made permanent, deficits would rise by over $5 trillion, exceeding Biden's build back better bill.
