So the next time you see some serious-looking man in a suit declaring that we’re teetering on the precipice of fiscal doom, don’t be afraid. He and his friends have been wrong about everything so far, and they literally have no idea what they’re talking about.Economist's View
Paul Krugman: Addicted to the Apocalypse
Posted by Mark Thoma | Professor of Economics, University of Oregon
6 comments:
“they literally have no idea what they’re talking about”. Robert Eisner said the same in 1993. See:
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/FederalDebt.html
"So the next time you see some serious-looking man in a suit declaring that we’re teetering on the precipice of fiscal doom, don’t be afraid. He and his friends have been wrong about everything so far, and they literally have no idea what they’re talking about. "
Looks like one more in the "moron camp" ... that makes at least 2 of us...
rsp,
What is really worrisome is watching a guy like Krugman - followed by over a million on Twitter and read by influential people like the Clintons, White House and Fed staff, etc. - pounding against obvious fallacies week after week, in a crystal clear style and yet having zero effect on everyday policies.
@ Ralph.
Right. This is nothing new. The fiscal scolds have been at work since the New Deal trying to roll it back.
See Robert Eisner's popular books, The Great Deficit Scares, How Real Is The Federal Debt? and The Misunderstood Economy. He also wrote The Total Incomes System of Accounting, which underlies his analysis and lays out the rationale in terms of misperceptions of national accounting.
@ Jose
Right. Shows the power of fixed thinking and entrenched ideology. No one even answers Krugman, which may indicate that they know they's make fools of themselves if they try to refute him. More likely though, is the tactic of ignoring your detractors so as not to give them exposure. Typically the put down of ideologues is "There goes Krugman again."
Of course, if the monetary sovereign simply spent its fiat into existence without ever borrowing, we would not be having this ridiculous fight since there would be no National Debt.
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