Ocassionally they tell the truth: "Economist" Paul Krugman

Did you hear that someone made a fake Google+ page in Paul Krugman's name? Well, here is Krugman's response. From the New York Times, Paul Krugman's blog:
"Identity Theft"
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/identity-theft/

I love this quote from his post:
"So if you see me quoted as saying something really stupid or outrageous, and it didn’t come from the Times or some other verifiable site, you should probably assume it was a fake."

Probably, he says. Probably. As in, he knows he says really stupid stuff. So he can't honestly say "if you see me quoted as saying something really stupid, assume it was a fake." Because he knows that that simply wouldn't be true.

I love this part, too: "Apparently some people can’t find enough things to attack in what I actually say, so they’re busy creating fake quotes." Now that is bullshit. Krugman keeps plenty of people busy attacking the drivel that comes out of his mouth and his keyboard.


So what prompted Krugman to post this to his blog? The Fake Krugman, from the fake Google+ account, said this:
"People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage."

This is what he was objecting to. Funny thing is, the Fake Krugman said exactly what the Real Krugman believes. Don't believe me? Consider these links.

From Human Events:
"The Krugman Earthquake Stimulus Fakeout"
"A phony post that sounded too good to be false." by John Hayward
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=45730

Lots of jokes to start off this column. I like this one: "Breaking: mountain of debt in Washington shifts slightly, triggering magnitude 5.8 earthquake."

The article presents the Fake Krugman quote and then makes some good points:

"The message sounds like self-parody, but Krugman is a big believer in the 'Broken Windows' school of economics, having apparently missed the part of Econ 101 where they teach you it’s a fallacy. He muses often on the fabulous opportunities for economic growth afforded by wars and the cleanup efforts from natural disasters. Less than a week after the 9/11 attacks, for example, he wrote: 'Ghastly as it may seem to say this, the terror attack - like the original day of infamy, which brought an end to the Great Depression - could even do some economic good.'"


And from Hot Air:
"Krugman(?): If only the earthquake had done more damage, the economy would have gotten a boost; Update: Not Krugman" posted by Allahpundit
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/08/23/krugman-if-only-the-earthquake-had-done-more-damage-the-economy-would-have-gotten-a-boost/

"Is it real or just a goof? Kevin Williamson isn’t sure and neither am I, but given that this is the same guy who fantasized recently about the Keynesian awesomeness of an alien invasion, it’s at least a toss-up. All day long I’ve felt relieved that the quake caused only very minor damage, but now suddenly I’m bummed that the Brooklyn Bridge didn’t fall into the river. Maybe we can get DHS or the NYPD to blow it up? That’s a few thousand jobs right there."

"Here’s a bona fide Krugman original, published … September 14, 2001."

And now the Hot Air article quotes Krugman directly:

"It seems almost in bad taste to talk about dollars and cents after an act of mass murder. Nonetheless, we must ask about the economic aftershocks from Tuesday’s horror.

"These aftershocks need not be major. Ghastly as it may seem to say this, the terror attack — like the original day of infamy, which brought an end to the Great Depression — could even do some economic good. But there are already ominous indications that some will see this tragedy not as an occasion for true national unity, but as an opportunity for political profiteering…

"First, the driving force behind the economic slowdown has been a plunge in business investment. Now, all of a sudden, we need some new office buildings. As I’ve already indicated, the destruction isn’t big compared with the economy, but rebuilding will generate at least some increase in business spending.

"Second, the attack opens the door to some sensible recession-fighting measures. For the last few weeks there has been a heated debate among liberals over whether to advocate the classic Keynesian response to economic slowdown, a temporary burst of public spending. There were plausible economic arguments in favor of such a move, but it was questionable whether Congress could agree on how to spend the money in time to be of any use — and there was also the certainty that conservatives would refuse to accept any such move unless it were tied to another round of irresponsible long-term tax cuts. Now it seems that we will indeed get a quick burst of public spending, however tragic the reasons."

Summary: Paul Krugman is stunningly stupid. Of course we believed the Fake Paul Krugman post on Google+! The real stuff he said is even more outrageous than the fake stuff!

Need more proof? Read on...


More from Hot Air:
"Krugman: You know what this economy needs? A space alien invasion!" posted by Ed Morrissey
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/08/15/krugman-you-know-what-this-economy-needs-a-space-alien-invasion/

Watch the video. Yes, I can't believe he can say that stuff with a straight face, either.

This whole loony discussion from Krugman came after Fareed Zakaria asks about the ditch digging example, where some people (Keynesians, actually, not smart people) believe that government paying some people to dig ditches and others to fill in the ditches creates jobs.

As Hot Air says, "Paul Krugman then doubles down on this idiocy by explaining that economic growth would be just around the corner — if only Space Invaders came to life." Seriously.

Amazing that sheep out there keep listening to him. Amazing.