Citizen Joe went to a panel of generally lefty, eminent wall street wizards and economics professors speaking with Bob Kerrey at The New School on Friday, March 9, 2007.

After three hours of listening in on a heady conversation about budget deficits, current accounts, foreign investment, GDP, savings rates, etc. – and being surprised to find my mind neither fried nor completely cuisinarted in the process – I was comforted to hear that with all the hype about the US economy teetering on collapse, we’re doing okay.  It’s not that we don’t have problems; it’s just that none are likely to hurl us into a depression-era abyss any time soon (like I sometimes worry).

Most economists/wizards on the panel were either optimistic (Larry Kudlow) or not overly concerned (Robert Solow, Robert Shapiro, Robert Hormats, Bernard Schwartz, Felix Rohatyn).  Brad DeLong was the exception. 

While not exactly preaching fire and brimstone, DeLong made a strong case to worry long and hard about the possibility that the world may someday grow tired of investing deeply in the US every year (which it has to do to finance our trade deficit).  If the Japanese and Chinese wake up one day and decide they’d rather see their investments locked up in Euros rather than US dollars and they make the shift suddenly (in under a year, for example), things could get ugly back home.  DeLong doesn’t say it’ll happen for sure – but he puts the odds at 1 in 10. 

So I’m little worried still – but not enough to make me study up on my Chinese or farming technique.