WEBVTT - A Closer Look With Arthur Levitt: Jeffrey Sachs (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>This is a closer look with Arthur Levitt. Arthur Levitt

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<v Speaker 1>is a former chairman of the U S Securities and

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<v Speaker 1>Exchange Commission, a Bloomberg LP board member, a senior advisor

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<v Speaker 1>to the Promontory Financial Group, and a policy adviser to Goldman. Sachs.

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<v Speaker 1>Jeffrey Sachs is Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of

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<v Speaker 1>Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. It's the director

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<v Speaker 1>of both the Columbia Center for Sustainable Development in the

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<v Speaker 1>u N Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He has twice been

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<v Speaker 1>named among Time magazines one hundred Most Influential World Leaders.

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<v Speaker 1>He's a New York Times best selling author. His books

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<v Speaker 1>include The End of Poverty and the Age of Sustainable Development.

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<v Speaker 1>His newest book is Building the New American Economies, Smart, Air,

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<v Speaker 1>and Sustainable, in which he shows how we can find

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<v Speaker 1>a path to growth and economic progress that is both

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<v Speaker 1>fair and environmentally sustainable. He joins me now for a

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<v Speaker 1>closer look, jeff your latest book is about why we

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<v Speaker 1>need to build a new American economy. Did we stop

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<v Speaker 1>building things? Did our government stop investing in its own future?

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<v Speaker 1>Is that what provokes this writing The US economy in

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<v Speaker 1>some ways has continued to do what it has done

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<v Speaker 1>for almost two centuries, and that is to achieve economic

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<v Speaker 1>growth and to bring new technologies to the markets. So

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<v Speaker 1>there are some wonderful accomplishments of the US in information technology,

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<v Speaker 1>in a Tesla, electric vehicles, in SpaceX, and so forth.

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<v Speaker 1>But there are two huge shortcomings in the US economy

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<v Speaker 1>that we really feel socially and politically. One is that

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<v Speaker 1>our society has become incredibly divided on income and on

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<v Speaker 1>the basis to a large extent, of educational attainment. So

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<v Speaker 1>people in the US that have a college degree, by

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<v Speaker 1>and large are doing well, feeling well, having rising income

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<v Speaker 1>standards in life expectancy. Those who have less than a

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<v Speaker 1>bachelor's degree are having a pretty hard time, and those

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<v Speaker 1>with a high school diploma or less as their highest

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<v Speaker 1>education attainment are are really bearing the brunt of technological

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<v Speaker 1>change and globals a So that's one big problem, which

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<v Speaker 1>is an increasingly divided society and people just not making it.

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<v Speaker 1>We even have rising death rates for working class white

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<v Speaker 1>Americans that are experiencing more substance abuse, more suicides, more despair.

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<v Speaker 1>The second big problem one that a lot of people

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<v Speaker 1>just want to look away at and pretend doesn't exist,

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<v Speaker 1>but most of us who live our lives know that

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<v Speaker 1>it is real. Is that we're really wrecking the environment

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<v Speaker 1>in a pretty thoughtless way. And the two big problems

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<v Speaker 1>there are the global warming, which we know to be

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<v Speaker 1>caused by our heavy dependence on coal, oil, and gas.

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<v Speaker 1>And second, we are really depleting so many vital parts

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<v Speaker 1>of the environment, like the groundwater that provides the basis

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<v Speaker 1>for a lot of our irrigated agriculture, or the bio

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<v Speaker 1>diversity that's just dying off, not only in the United

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<v Speaker 1>States but worldwide. So I don't despair of our economy.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's a pretty impressive that we have a

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen trillion dollar annual output about sixty thou dollars per

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<v Speaker 1>person produced in the United States is very impressive, but

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<v Speaker 1>it could be much much better for our well being

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<v Speaker 1>and for our long term sustainability. Well, I'm wondering whether

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<v Speaker 1>Trump's plans really coincide with the goals that you've outlined

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<v Speaker 1>in the book. He proposes a package of tax breaks

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<v Speaker 1>meant to help spur a trillion dollars and spending on

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<v Speaker 1>roads and bridges. Do you think the tax breaks are

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<v Speaker 1>enough to get the job done in terms of public

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<v Speaker 1>works projects. I think that our country has a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of a problem with what psychologists called delayed gratification,

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<v Speaker 1>which is the ability to wait a little bit, save

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<v Speaker 1>for the future, invest for the future, and then reap

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<v Speaker 1>the benefits. Uh. Too many people and too many influential lobbies,

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<v Speaker 1>unfortunately want want the benefits right now, and so they

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<v Speaker 1>want tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts, But we need

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<v Speaker 1>the taxes to pay for the education, for the science

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<v Speaker 1>and technology, and for the public part of the infrastructure

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<v Speaker 1>in order to be able to have the higher productivity

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<v Speaker 1>in the future. And we need to pay extra right

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<v Speaker 1>now in order to mobilize technologies like wind and solar power,

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<v Speaker 1>which are a little bit more expensive than coal, but

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<v Speaker 1>the heck of a lot cleaner and safer. And so

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<v Speaker 1>it's spending a little bit more for a safer future.

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<v Speaker 1>That's delayed gratification. But we don't have it right now,

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<v Speaker 1>and the populists like Trump play to be we gotta

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<v Speaker 1>have it now. We'll continue this conversation with renowned economist

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<v Speaker 1>and Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs in just a moment. This

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<v Speaker 1>is a closer look with Arthur Levin, it's twelve minutes

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<v Speaker 1>past the hour. This is a closer look at Columbia

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<v Speaker 1>professor Jeffrey Sachs. We've been discussing issues like infrastructure investment

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<v Speaker 1>and income inequality, covered in his new book Building a

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<v Speaker 1>New American Economy. I'm Artha Levitt, jeff Unemployment at four

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<v Speaker 1>point seven, stock market going reasonably well, and Janet Yellen

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<v Speaker 1>suggesting that we're back to normal. How do you see

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<v Speaker 1>this economy and what do you regard to be its

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<v Speaker 1>major weakness from a macroeconomic point of view, the one

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<v Speaker 1>that Janet Yellen looks at. We're doing okay. We have

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<v Speaker 1>recovered from the two thousand and eight financial crisis. The

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<v Speaker 1>economy is growing, and employment is relatively high. The problems

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<v Speaker 1>that we have are not business cycle problems. They're structural problems.

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<v Speaker 1>Now that we're are we getting the most human value

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<v Speaker 1>out of the eighteen trillion dollar gross domestic product? Are

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<v Speaker 1>we sharing the benefits of prosperity widely enough? Are we

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<v Speaker 1>looking after those who are really hurting? Are we investing

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<v Speaker 1>for the future. That's where we fall short, not so

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<v Speaker 1>much in the short term quartered a quarter macroeconomics, but

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<v Speaker 1>in the longer term questions of what we want to

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<v Speaker 1>be building for this country. The angry voters in the

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<v Speaker 1>last election weren't wrong. All the wealth seems to be

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<v Speaker 1>accruing at the top, and to them, I suppose the

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<v Speaker 1>game does seem rigged. Is there anything that you think

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<v Speaker 1>we can do to redirect this imbalance? I think the

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<v Speaker 1>basic lesson of advanced market economies is that it's normal

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<v Speaker 1>that there would be pretty high inequality of market returns,

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<v Speaker 1>but that these can be reduced by government policies that

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<v Speaker 1>ensure that everybody has access to education, healthcare, vacation time,

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<v Speaker 1>maternity leave, and so on. So the countries they admire

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<v Speaker 1>the most are Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway. I think

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<v Speaker 1>they run the most balanced ships of states. Canada I

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<v Speaker 1>think does better than we do, also in that they're

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<v Speaker 1>all market economies that like the US, they're all very prosperous,

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<v Speaker 1>but they tax some more than we do, and they

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<v Speaker 1>use that added revenue to ensure that kids don't have

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<v Speaker 1>a crushing student death. They ensure that every poor child

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<v Speaker 1>can get a decent education. They ensure that everybody has

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<v Speaker 1>vacation time, which I think we're rich enough to ensure.

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<v Speaker 1>Right now, the States is the only rich country that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't give even a single day of guaranteed paid vacation

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<v Speaker 1>to the labor force, and I think that's just wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>Now we're rich enough to do better and fairer than that. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that turns us towards emphasis on Wall Street, where you're

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<v Speaker 1>suggesting a turn away from high frequency trading and hedge

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<v Speaker 1>fund trading to long term capital formation, and that inevitably

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<v Speaker 1>those who have spoken about this topic before you and

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<v Speaker 1>those who will come after you will be talking about

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<v Speaker 1>some sort of tax policy to deal with our short

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<v Speaker 1>term thinking in the markets. I've always had reservations about

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<v Speaker 1>using tax policy to influence market structure, but I be

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<v Speaker 1>interested to know how you feel we to deal with this. First,

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<v Speaker 1>I want to thank you for speaking out about these

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<v Speaker 1>issues for so many years. Uh. It is a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit crazy that we're spending a vast amount of money

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<v Speaker 1>and taking the best minds in our country to shade

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<v Speaker 1>the time of trading by nanoseconds. There isn't a single

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<v Speaker 1>human benefit to that activity. There are winners and losers,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's a negative some game because that arms race too.

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<v Speaker 1>Trade in in nanoseconds faster accomplishes no social purpose, but

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<v Speaker 1>it does cost a lot of resources. And I think

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<v Speaker 1>the hedge fund industry has a different problem, which is

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<v Speaker 1>that I don't see the social value to it either,

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<v Speaker 1>in that uh they've charged choose huge fees. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>over the years, they have underperformed the market on average

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<v Speaker 1>for more than a decade. There has been one scandal

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<v Speaker 1>after another of insider trading or financial fraud. I follow

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<v Speaker 1>each of them closely. I think that uh, this business

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<v Speaker 1>of thinking that there are gurus that are going to

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<v Speaker 1>systematically and consistently outperformed the market is a mythology to

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<v Speaker 1>begin with. And when these people uh try to live

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<v Speaker 1>up to their mythical status, many of them end up

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<v Speaker 1>breaking the law. And so I'm worried about our general

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<v Speaker 1>moral framework of Wall Street because I think it has

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<v Speaker 1>become an incredibly corrupted place in one financial fraud after another,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's inside or trading, or live or rigging, or

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<v Speaker 1>selling known toxic assets to count parties, front running a front,

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<v Speaker 1>running takeover bids with insider information, and so on. And

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<v Speaker 1>I wish that our regulators were well, they've they've really

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<v Speaker 1>other than collecting some fines, they've not really faced the

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<v Speaker 1>moral question of Wall Street, and uh, we just haven't.

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<v Speaker 1>We've had a debate about it, but we also haven't

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<v Speaker 1>seen statesmen on Wall Street coming forward and saying we

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<v Speaker 1>have to clean up our act even when there's such

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<v Speaker 1>an egregious behavior. As well as Fargo and others. He's

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<v Speaker 1>a world renowned professor of economics, leader and sustainable development,

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<v Speaker 1>senior u N advisor, and best selling author whose latest

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<v Speaker 1>book is Building a New American Economy. He's also the

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<v Speaker 1>co recipient of the two thousand and fifteen Blue Planet Prize,

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<v Speaker 1>the leading global prize for environmental leadership. Columbia Professor Jeffrey

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<v Speaker 1>Sachs will return for part two of this interview next

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<v Speaker 1>week at this same time. By the way, if you

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<v Speaker 1>have comments about the show or suggestions for topics, please

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<v Speaker 1>email me at a Closer Look at Bloomberg dot net.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a closer look one word at Bloomberg dot net

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<v Speaker 1>and follow me on Twitter at Arthur Levitt one word.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a closer Look with Arthur Levitt. It's twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five minutes past the hour. This is a Closer Look

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<v Speaker 1>with Arthur Levitt. Arthur Levitt is a former chairman of

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<v Speaker 1>the u S Securities and Exchange Commission, a Bloomberg LP

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<v Speaker 1>board member, a senior advisor to the Promontory Financial Group,

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<v Speaker 1>and a policy adviser to go Leman Sachs. This week,

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<v Speaker 1>we continue our closer look renowned economist and Columbia professor

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<v Speaker 1>Jeffrey Sachs widely considered to be one of the world's

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<v Speaker 1>leading experts on economic development, global macroeconomics, and the fight

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<v Speaker 1>against poverty. He's a Senior u N Advisor for Sustainable

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<v Speaker 1>Development and best selling author whose books include The End

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<v Speaker 1>of Poverty, The Age of Sustainable Development, and his newest book,

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<v Speaker 1>Building the New American Economy. You spend your days with

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<v Speaker 1>college students, jeff will the young people save us on

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<v Speaker 1>climate change. For young people, they've been hearing about this issue.

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<v Speaker 1>They've been studying it in from elementary school through high

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<v Speaker 1>school to university. They have heard rightly from uh the

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<v Speaker 1>scientists in the world that they're going to be bearing

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<v Speaker 1>the brunt of what's happening. So there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>interest in this. There's among the college students no doubt

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<v Speaker 1>that this is real, and there's a lot of concern

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<v Speaker 1>that our government doesn't act. China owns five of the

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<v Speaker 1>world's six largest solar manufacturing companies. Aren't these the jobs

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<v Speaker 1>we should be worried about? Absolutely, China is on a

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<v Speaker 1>breakneck course to dominate the sustainable technologies of the future.

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<v Speaker 1>They actually have something called Made in China Initiatives, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's an industrial policy that says China should have cutting

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<v Speaker 1>edge global expertise and competitiveness in industries including information technology, semiconductors, robotics,

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<v Speaker 1>electric vehicles, smart shipping, fast inter city rail, advanced a

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<v Speaker 1>bonics and passenger aviation, advanced agriculture, genomics UH and new

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<v Speaker 1>materials with the renewable energy UH in proto voltaics among those.

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<v Speaker 1>So they've really set out a bold, clear, explicit agenda. UH.

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<v Speaker 1>This is not just the textbook pronouncement. It's what the

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<v Speaker 1>government's actually doing and allocating resources. And so what are

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<v Speaker 1>we doing spinning our wheels or even canceling In Trump's budget? UH?

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<v Speaker 1>Something called aren't e r PAY is the Advanced Research

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<v Speaker 1>Program for Advanced Energy in the Department of Energy. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a it's a wonderful program. It's looking at cutting edge

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<v Speaker 1>technologies for batteries, for example, for high quality, low cost,

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<v Speaker 1>low weight electric vehicles, and it's been going on for

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<v Speaker 1>a number of years. And because Trump is trying to

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<v Speaker 1>pretend that the climate change isn't real, he cut out

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<v Speaker 1>all through the government. He obviously had his team go

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<v Speaker 1>through every place that climate change was mentioned, and then

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<v Speaker 1>tried to acts that program. Well, who's going to produce

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<v Speaker 1>the renewable energy of the thirties on this strategy. It

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<v Speaker 1>won't be us if we continue that way, It'll be China.

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<v Speaker 1>Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts

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<v Speaker 1>of the world, and I suspect will be everywhere soon.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't you think the markets will be able to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with the clean energy and the right way. Markets are

0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:14.439
<v Speaker 1>are absolutely playing a very clear role in certain ways

0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:20.720
<v Speaker 1>right now. For instance, it's heavily polluting oil stands have

0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:25.840
<v Speaker 1>taken properly a big market hit. Despite the Trump saying

0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:30.400
<v Speaker 1>We're gonna be bringing those oil sands to market through

0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.600
<v Speaker 1>a new pipeline. What's actually happened is that Shell sold

0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:40.320
<v Speaker 1>its holdings, Conical, Phillips sold its holdings. Chevron is about

0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:44.960
<v Speaker 1>to sell its holdings in the Canadian oil sands. Stat

0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:48.800
<v Speaker 1>Oil sold its holdings in Canada. So the markets say

0:19:48.920 --> 0:19:53.520
<v Speaker 1>no way. And another dramatic case in just the recent

0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:59.160
<v Speaker 1>days is the Tesla is now valued on the market

0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:04.359
<v Speaker 1>more than General Motors and more than Ford. So that's

0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:08.760
<v Speaker 1>the market playing the right role for sure. Uh. And

0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:13.000
<v Speaker 1>I actually think that the message is getting through. So

0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:20.640
<v Speaker 1>even though President Trump kind of fulminates against the climate agenda,

0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.639
<v Speaker 1>I think real investors know the difference and are going

0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:26.520
<v Speaker 1>to be putting more money into coal plants. But what

0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:29.280
<v Speaker 1>is also true, and I think it's important to note,

0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:35.720
<v Speaker 1>is that some of these clean technologies cost more. They

0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.480
<v Speaker 1>really do still cost more because while solar maybe cheaper,

0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:44.160
<v Speaker 1>it can't be stored so cheaply. We'll continue this conversation

0:20:44.280 --> 0:20:49.280
<v Speaker 1>with Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, also the director of the

0:20:49.320 --> 0:20:54.520
<v Speaker 1>Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. In just a moment,

0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.600
<v Speaker 1>this is a closer look with Arthur Levin. It's twelve

0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:15.199
<v Speaker 1>minutes past the hour. This is a closer look at

0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:21.679
<v Speaker 1>economist and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs. He's also a

0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:26.639
<v Speaker 1>best selling author and syndicated columnists. And I'd like to

0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.199
<v Speaker 1>talk about one of your recent columns Jeff and the

0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:38.040
<v Speaker 1>Boston Globe on our Wars in the Middle East. Could you, uh, well,

0:21:39.080 --> 0:21:44.840
<v Speaker 1>let's say, what do you think of National Security Advisor

0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:52.680
<v Speaker 1>hr McMaster and Defense Secretary Maddis? Are these moderating forces

0:21:53.080 --> 0:21:58.120
<v Speaker 1>in Trump world? Tell? What I do think is that

0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:03.560
<v Speaker 1>our foreign policy establish uh, not the particular individuals, but

0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:09.360
<v Speaker 1>really the the security state that's been there from Clinton

0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:15.160
<v Speaker 1>through Bush, through Obama and remains largely in place till now,

0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:19.600
<v Speaker 1>has taken us into too many wars in the Middle East.

0:22:19.840 --> 0:22:27.159
<v Speaker 1>And uh, we should not have fought the wars of

0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:34.000
<v Speaker 1>choice in Iraq in two thousand three, or overthrowing Kadafi

0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:37.560
<v Speaker 1>in Libya in two thousand eleven, or trying to overthrow

0:22:37.720 --> 0:22:42.280
<v Speaker 1>Assad in Assyria from two thousand and eleven until this

0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:48.200
<v Speaker 1>very day. I think this has been very naive, very costly,

0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:53.040
<v Speaker 1>very destabilizing, and increasingly dangerous because it puts US on

0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:57.080
<v Speaker 1>a collision course with a lot of other powerful countries.

0:22:57.440 --> 0:23:02.240
<v Speaker 1>It's also unleashed the wave of millions and millions of

0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:07.240
<v Speaker 1>refugees that in turn is destabilizing European politics. So these

0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:10.240
<v Speaker 1>are what I call wars of choice. Would you end

0:23:10.720 --> 0:23:13.840
<v Speaker 1>the fighting in the Middle East right away? And would

0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:17.880
<v Speaker 1>you end it everywhere right now? Just pull out. Yes,

0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:24.400
<v Speaker 1>what I would do is stop the covert operations which

0:23:24.440 --> 0:23:29.199
<v Speaker 1>were undertaking in probably a dozen countries right now. I

0:23:29.200 --> 0:23:33.960
<v Speaker 1>would stop the support of the anti Assad rebels in

0:23:34.760 --> 0:23:42.960
<v Speaker 1>uh Syria. I would stop the US military and often

0:23:43.000 --> 0:23:50.439
<v Speaker 1>covert presence in Yemen, in Somalia, in Syria, in Iraq,

0:23:51.520 --> 0:23:56.359
<v Speaker 1>in Afghanistan. But what I would do is a note

0:23:56.520 --> 0:24:03.000
<v Speaker 1>that the powers of the region, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia

0:24:04.119 --> 0:24:09.879
<v Speaker 1>have a real interest in uh stopping the Islamic State.

0:24:10.400 --> 0:24:16.919
<v Speaker 1>For example, none of those standing sovereign nations wants this

0:24:17.119 --> 0:24:22.600
<v Speaker 1>kind of violent, super violent renegade the group running around

0:24:22.600 --> 0:24:26.600
<v Speaker 1>in their territory. Our wars have actually opened up the

0:24:26.680 --> 0:24:33.679
<v Speaker 1>space for these horrible uh jihades groups. And so what

0:24:33.720 --> 0:24:37.440
<v Speaker 1>I would do is pull out the US military. But

0:24:37.600 --> 0:24:40.840
<v Speaker 1>I would try, through the U N. Security Council to

0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:45.520
<v Speaker 1>say that the major powers, especially China, Russia, the United States,

0:24:46.240 --> 0:24:52.160
<v Speaker 1>Britain and France. I push the regional powers, the ones

0:24:52.240 --> 0:24:54.879
<v Speaker 1>that live with this day in and day out, to

0:24:55.000 --> 0:25:02.320
<v Speaker 1>get their act together to actually get end this uh

0:25:02.560 --> 0:25:10.560
<v Speaker 1>isis phenomenon. Realizing that isis is a it's horrible, it's

0:25:10.680 --> 0:25:16.760
<v Speaker 1>it's a vulgar, it's uh incredibly brutal uh in medieval

0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:22.680
<v Speaker 1>but it's only thirty or fifty thousand in total, and

0:25:23.240 --> 0:25:28.520
<v Speaker 1>they're so completely outnumbered by the standing armies of the region.

0:25:29.200 --> 0:25:32.040
<v Speaker 1>If we did this systematically, not with the US, and

0:25:32.080 --> 0:25:36.240
<v Speaker 1>it's a bombastic way, and I used the term because

0:25:36.520 --> 0:25:40.879
<v Speaker 1>we bomb all the time if we weren't doing it,

0:25:40.880 --> 0:25:44.480
<v Speaker 1>but we were doing it through a U N framework

0:25:44.600 --> 0:25:48.200
<v Speaker 1>that recognized the role of the regional powers and didn't

0:25:48.520 --> 0:25:52.960
<v Speaker 1>keep taking sides so relentlessly that we're on the Saudis side,

0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:55.720
<v Speaker 1>were against the Iranian side, and so forth, we would

0:25:55.760 --> 0:26:00.919
<v Speaker 1>actually stabilize a region that urgently needs stabley. Can this

0:26:01.040 --> 0:26:05.480
<v Speaker 1>be done almost immediately? I know that you wrote an

0:26:05.600 --> 0:26:09.840
<v Speaker 1>article on the Boston Globe recently that the United States

0:26:09.840 --> 0:26:13.600
<v Speaker 1>should immediately end its fighting in the Middle East? Do

0:26:13.640 --> 0:26:18.919
<v Speaker 1>you mean everywhere and just pull out suddenly? I'm alarmed,

0:26:19.080 --> 0:26:22.400
<v Speaker 1>and I would alert everybody to the fact that we're

0:26:23.440 --> 0:26:28.600
<v Speaker 1>right now on a path of escalation. We've had the

0:26:28.640 --> 0:26:34.199
<v Speaker 1>Tomahawk drone attacks in Syria. We've had the mother of

0:26:34.280 --> 0:26:42.000
<v Speaker 1>all bombing bomb in Afghanistan. We've had major drone strikes

0:26:42.160 --> 0:26:50.200
<v Speaker 1>in Iraq which killed hundreds of civilians, were rattling, beating

0:26:50.200 --> 0:26:55.120
<v Speaker 1>the drums of war with regard to North Korea. This

0:26:55.320 --> 0:27:00.919
<v Speaker 1>is rather alarming because we have a president who is

0:27:02.520 --> 0:27:10.000
<v Speaker 1>completely inexperienced in foreign policy. He obviously changes day to

0:27:10.200 --> 0:27:17.960
<v Speaker 1>day even in basic questions, basic alliances, and basic decisions.

0:27:18.000 --> 0:27:24.160
<v Speaker 1>So he's impetuous, inexperienced, and at the command of the

0:27:24.200 --> 0:27:28.880
<v Speaker 1>most powerful arsenal in the history of the world. And

0:27:29.080 --> 0:27:32.840
<v Speaker 1>I don't find that a comforting combination. I find it

0:27:32.880 --> 0:27:35.760
<v Speaker 1>a very worrisome thing. And I wish that some grown

0:27:35.800 --> 0:27:39.480
<v Speaker 1>ups in Congress, not just in the executive branch, but

0:27:39.560 --> 0:27:43.520
<v Speaker 1>in Congress, would say, this is a democracy. Congress that

0:27:43.600 --> 0:27:48.679
<v Speaker 1>declares war, the president does not have the authority to

0:27:48.800 --> 0:27:52.159
<v Speaker 1>go to war on his own. And before we do

0:27:52.280 --> 0:27:58.440
<v Speaker 1>something that could be disastrous, absolutely tragic, for example, attacking

0:27:58.440 --> 0:28:04.200
<v Speaker 1>North Korea and with the potentially horrific consequences, that we

0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:08.840
<v Speaker 1>need some better governance. He is a professor and director

0:28:08.880 --> 0:28:13.879
<v Speaker 1>of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. The

0:28:13.920 --> 0:28:18.280
<v Speaker 1>New York Times called him probably the most important economist

0:28:18.359 --> 0:28:22.200
<v Speaker 1>in the world, and he has twice been named among

0:28:22.320 --> 0:28:27.919
<v Speaker 1>Time magazines one hundred most influential World leaders. He's also

0:28:28.000 --> 0:28:31.760
<v Speaker 1>a New York Times best selling author whose new book

0:28:31.880 --> 0:28:37.520
<v Speaker 1>is Building a New American Economy, Smart Fair and sustainable

0:28:37.920 --> 0:28:42.400
<v Speaker 1>professor Jeffrey Sachs, thank you for joining us. By the way,

0:28:42.480 --> 0:28:47.520
<v Speaker 1>if you have comments about the program or suggestions for topics,

0:28:48.080 --> 0:28:51.680
<v Speaker 1>please email me at a Closer Look at Bloomberg dot net.

0:28:52.080 --> 0:28:56.000
<v Speaker 1>That's a closer Look one word at Bloomberg dot net,

0:28:56.680 --> 0:29:00.080
<v Speaker 1>and follow me on Twitter at Arthur Levin when we're it.

0:29:01.320 --> 0:29:04.600
<v Speaker 1>This is a Closer Look with Arthur Levitt. It's twenty

0:29:04.640 --> 0:29:13.240
<v Speaker 1>five minutes past the hour. M