…versus reality:
…it should be clear that the Fed causing a housing bubble in order to bring about “soaring household spending” was Krugman’s optimal situation, whether or not he thought it was doable at the time. Given the consequences of the housing bubble that did ultimately happen, that alone should be enough cause for the public to stop listening to this fellow.
But…but…! He has a Nobel Prize! And he writes for the New York Times! The New. York. Times.
Not listen to Paul Krugman? Why, it would be madness!
Next, they’re going to tell me I should pay no attention to Maureen Dowd, or Frank Rich.
[Via Joe Katzman]
*sigh*
Nobel Prize holder = appeal to authority
In what *part* of economics is Mr. Krugman’s Nobel Prize based?
“for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity”
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2008/press.html
Just like most other fields of intellectual endeavor, economists specialize. If I encountered a Nobel Laureate in Physics who won the prize for buckyball research, I would not cite him as an authority on how to fix Europe’s latest particle accelerator.