Recession's Over, Need for More Stimulus Isn't

The recession may technically be over but that's no reason for policymakers to start hanging up "Mission Accomplished" banners, writes Paul Krugman. Getting complacent about the state of the economy will result in a vast amount of human misery, he says, because the job market is still terrible and will remain so for many years to come unless the government takes urgent action.

If unemployment is allowed to remain high, Krugman writes in the New York Times, it will not only cause a spike in poverty, but will cost the economy $2 trillion from 2010 to 2013,  and could seriously hurt America's long-term economic prospects. Another stimulus package will no doubt be a tough sell politically, he admits, but "the question shouldn’t be whether we can afford to do more to promote recovery. It should be whether we can afford not to. And the answer is no." (More Paul Krugman stories.)