NP - Toryism (Austerity) Isn't Working.

[Mark Kohut]

Well, this time Alice is under the barrel to me. 
 I gave up thinking about her posts---until rereading now---when she wrote 
"Krug" is just a journalist. 
 
Low stupid blow. Krugman is an esteemed economist who writes columns (as well as
books). He is no more a 'journalist' as is Ben when he writes the Fed news/reports. 
Krugman's columns--arguments, observations, polemics from his knowledge and reasoning aboujt it--
 just appear in a major newspaper. 
 
Ben has two charters as Fed Head, and it seems he tries to meet them morally with
whatever policies he has been handed. To grow the economy; to lower inflation if
it threatens the economy. 
 
Krugman uses his economic knowledge, even simple 101, to argue for policy morally.
He does that well imho. Sometimes he sees the actions of the Fed differently than they do--
his knowledge leads him to different conclusions in some ways than Ben's knowledge does
him. They both want a fuller employment economy and inflation under 'control" it seems to me.
 
Krugman could not now ever be appointed head of the Fed, since he chose a life
of writing activism, so to speak. 
 
 

From: Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at verizon.net>
To: pynchon-l at waste.org 
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2012 10:51 AM
Subject: Re: NP - Toryism (Austerity) Isn't Working.


OK, Alice has me over a barrel.  I'll concede that just because Krug 
provides a moral argument in support of his case doesn't mean that Ben 
enjoys sending widows and orphans into the street.

I will take a wait and see attitude as to whether Ben is too moral for 
their to be a pundit job behind his tenure at the Fed.

P

On 4/27/2012 8:48 PM, alice wellintown wrote:
>  Isn't Krugman's main point that it's wrong to justify unemployment's
>> remaining at high levels on the grounds that adequate stimulus might produce
>> small amounts of inflation.  This sounds like more of a moral than a
>> political argument. It's also textbook macroeconomics.
>
> Both positions are textbook.
> Who is political?
> Krug.
> Ben has the moral high ground here.
> And, thatz a good thing. If Krug were Fed Chair and Ben journalist, I
> would expect Krug to take the moral position and Ben to take the
> political one.
> Of course, Ben would not make a good journailst; he's not political enough.
> Krug would not make a good Fed Chair; he's not moral enough. Krug is
> passionate; he believes, idologically.
> Ben is cool; he doesn't believe; he knows that textbooks are useful
> books but and that economic policy never follows the book. One has to
> be practical. One has to care, but keep cool.
>
>
>> Inflicting unnecessary pain is a sin and fiscal stimulus produces growth,
>> both points working together, make his case pretty persuasive.
>
> The Fed has no reason, no justifcation, no plan,  to inflict pain, and
> unneccesary pain or suffering is not economic. Moral? Political? Sin?
> These are journailistic fantacies.
>
> The question is simple: how does the Fed do its job? The answer is
> also simple; It does its job well. Krug has become the Chomsky of
> economics. He should quit while he's behinid. Ben will make a fool of
> him in time.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/attachments/20120428/03375eb3/attachment.html>