title:  Liberal Nobel Prize Winning Economist: Hillary Clinton Is MORE Liberal Than Obama
text: Over the last decade or so, a handful of people have become what you might call economic rock stars, at least for liberals. Robert Reich, Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz grab the attention of liberals when they talk about income inequality, taking corporate influence out of politics and a more equitable tax structure.Bernie Sanders had talked about bringing on Stiglitz and Reich, if he were to win the presidency. In other words, these are men who have all the credibility in the world when it comes to evaluating political candidates and Nobel Prize winning economist Stiglitz believes that if Clinton wins, we are in for an even more liberal agenda than Obama has had.To be fair, Stiglitz is an advisor to Clinton s campaign, but he rarely tones down his progressive rhetoric, no matter who he s talking to or about. With Clinton, though, he gets quite specific in an interview with Slate Magazine. Stiglitz believes that in the years since Bill Clinton left office, the country has changed and that we are far more focused on income inequality, something he believes Hillary Clinton will do something about:Where do you situate Hillary Clinton ideologically in terms of economics?I think that s a good question. I think the world today is different from where it was 20 years ago, and the issues are being framed considerably differently. For instance, I think there s a recognition that inequality is a much bigger problem. I think she is much more concerned about more progressive taxes and dealing with tax avoidance of multinational corporations. I think she is very committed to that. I think progressives are not against trade, but they are concerned with trade agreements that are pushed by corporations, for their interests, by and for corporations. That is what we have in the form of TPP. I think it is a good thing that she has come out against that.Stiglitz also believes that the very fact that Clinton is pragmatic   something she s often criticized for on the left   will keep he on the right track:One of the progressive concerns about Clinton has been that the Clintons are enmeshed with this sort of global, financial elite through their foundation, and just through the circles they travel in.I understand those concerns, and I guess part of the answer to that is the reality of 2016 is that the Senate Banking Committee has people like Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, and Jeff Merkel, and you are not going to get through legislation that is a sell out to Wall Street. Knowing that, and knowing that she does not want to fight within her party, I think she is pragmatic enough. The criticism occurs because she s been, you might say, too pragmatic. The fact is she is pragmatic enough to know that these people will not tolerate the kind of sell-out that I think many people have seen in previous administrations. I think it is unlikely that we will get policies that stray too far from the progressive agenda.Stiglitz credits Bernie Sanders with Hillary Clinton s more progressive policies. As for Clinton compared to Obama:More conservative than Hillary, yes. I think his temperament is basically more conservative and he did not go as far on Dodd-Frank as many people wanted. He opposed some of the key provisions that eventually got in the bill.For those who are still worried that Hillary Clinton will take on the more neoliberal policies of her husband, remember that times have changed and that we are no longer a center right nation. If anything, we are center left, and Clinton knows that if she disappoints the growing progressive wing of the Democratic party, she is doomed to just one term.Featured image via JP Yim/Getty Images.