Paul Krugman forecasts dark days

A year after his first conversation with Big Think, Paul Krugman sat down with us again recently to look at the state of the US economy. Twelve months hence, things have not improved. Krugman described the economic fragility during his first conversation last December as a "near recession," an observation that is now a forgone conclusion. Krugman's sober critique of the market has won him wide respect among economic thinkers, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in October for his work dating back to the 90s. A congratulatory White House dinner followed during which Krugman said "everyone was on their best behavior." Krugman is famously critical of the Bush administration's economic policy and deregulation in general. The next administration is reportedly reaching out to Krugman for his macro-economic acumen, and there's even been speculation over Krugman is being tapped for a post under Obama, but, as Krugman put it to us, bureaucracy is not his strong suit. In a recent New York Times column, Krugman instructs Americans that the next bubble--housing, dot com or some other incarnation--is not coming anytime soon, and they should instead prepare for as much as a year of "economic hell." He struck a similar chord when he broke down depression economics in his second interview with us.