Source: EconLog
by Leonidas Zelmanovitz
“The debate over Robert Triffin’s famous ‘dilemma’ continues to animate policymakers and commentators. Stephen Miran, a leading economic advisor to Mr. Trump, in a November article revived the theme by arguing that the inelastic global demand for dollar-denominated assets imposes structural costs on the U.S. economy. Joseph Sternberg, in a recent column, by contrast, dismisses Triffin as a defunct economist whose predictions never materialized. Yet both approaches overlook the crucial fiscal dimension. The real problem is not that the world uses the dollar as a reserve currency; if nothing else, it is a blessing, an ‘exorbitant privilege,’ as it is called. The problem is that the United States consistently couples this privilege with persistent fiscal deficits.” (09/11/25)
https://www.econlib.org/rethinking-triffin-the-fiscal-dimension-of-the-dollar-dilemma/