There was a suggestion published in The Guardian on the weekend that Obama should pick Paul Krugman as the next Secretary of the Treasury to replace Tim Geithner. So many birds would be killed by that one stone that I know it’s not going to happen but the pleasure even of the idea is scrumptious beyond delectation. Here are the nominating words themselves:
President Obama hasn’t picked a treasury secretary yet for his second term, so he has a chance to do something different.
He could ignore what Wall Street and conservative media interests want and pick somebody who would represent what the electorate voted for. And not even just the people who voted for him: there are a lot of Republican voters out there who are also unemployed.
A proposal of the highest calibre and from The Grauniad of all places. Look what a genius Krugman is. He is the very epitome of the Keynesian brand and as pointed out has had one success after another so why not get him to show his stuff by fixing the US and world’s economies all by himself.
Krugman has been right about the major problems facing our economy, where many other economists and much of the business press have been wrong. A few examples: he wrote about the housing bubble before it collapsed and caused the Great Recession; he has forecast and explained that large budget deficits and trillions of dollars of “quantitative easing” (money creation) would not cause inflation or long-term interest rates to rise; and that the ‘confidence fairies’ would not reward governments that pursued austerity in the face of recession.
Most importantly, Krugman is on the side of the majority of Americans. He has written extensively in favor of policies that favor job creation, explained the folly of budget cutting in the face of a weak economy, and opposes cuts to social security and Medicare benefits.
Perfect, perfect, perfect. With Obama’s 100% track record, this must be a natural for him and for them both.
Krugman has been openly critical of Obama, including calling him a ‘transcendent figure with all style and no substance’, mainly because Krugman believes the deficit should be trillions more and the fed should be printing more money.
Krugman rides the bandwagon of the day. If you look through his work you can find he has supported and condemned literally every economic action in history. He gushes praise over the credit to housing and creation of the bubble to after dot com bust, the critisises creation of the bubble. His early works are critical of long run deficits, now he says even Americas plan of 10 years at a trillion a year deficit is not enough.
Mundi
7 Jan 13 at 7:18 pm
Krugman today is nothing but a fence sitting by-partison political columnist, he will take either side if you throw enough dollars at him. I’ll try and find these two articles he wrote within weeks that are complete opposites of each other (they were early on during the gfc – when he found there was a market for spouting what people wanted to hear).
Mundi
7 Jan 13 at 7:25 pm
There are a dangerous new breed of non-thinking useful idiots who idolise Krugman, usually breathlessly reporting a Nobel Prize in their gushing praise.
I think it would be a great idea to move this sniper from the sidelines to the main game, so that people can bet on his genius once and for all.
The Mississippi Bubble took 4 years from inception to bursting. The modern-day John Laws have learnt from all the other busts. The Weimar republic breakdown took 3 years as well.
Give it time to work through the system.
brc
7 Jan 13 at 7:27 pm
Not all of us want to see the whole Western world crash and burn you know… at least, not right away.
If Obama wants to set the banking industry on fire, how about this guy?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Galbraith
Tel
7 Jan 13 at 7:29 pm
Hey how long would it take to naturalise Swan he couldn’t do as much harm as he is less intelligent and it would get him off our books.
kelly liddle
7 Jan 13 at 7:33 pm
There is much in the theory that the US can’t recover until it hits a devastating rock bottom via destruction of the USD.
But there is no case that the Krug will be any better at that than the Geit…….unless of course the Krug and the Bernank are looking to double team with super big USD bales dropped from helicopters, errr randomly?
Alfonso
7 Jan 13 at 7:53 pm
God help us!
Giorgio
7 Jan 13 at 8:01 pm
Sure why not? There is no indication that either the USA or EU have any ability to take hard decisions in their long term interests. Why not have a few laughs along the way.
Then retire to a cabin in the woods with about 5 years of tinned tuna till things settle down a bit again.
H B Bear
7 Jan 13 at 8:23 pm
I absolutely agree.
He has a Nobel Prize you know. He can do to economics what Mr Obama did for peace.
DaveF
7 Jan 13 at 9:45 pm
Go ahead Barry, make out day.
He is the reverse King Midas. Krugman’s reputation will be shit.
.
7 Jan 13 at 9:47 pm
our…FFS
.
7 Jan 13 at 9:47 pm
“He has a Nobel Prize you know. He can do to economics what Mr Obama did for peace.”
That’s gotta sting
Jarrah
7 Jan 13 at 9:59 pm
Surely that other Nobel Economics Prize winner Josiah Bartlet is available?
Samuel J
7 Jan 13 at 10:49 pm
Krugs stopped being an economist and became a columnist. Henpecking by his aggressively far left wife hasn’t helped either. However as much as I regret saying it he is a gifted economist when he wants to be.
JC
7 Jan 13 at 10:54 pm
Nobel Economics Prize winner Josiah Bartlet
He was a good president for a Democrat.
Gab
7 Jan 13 at 10:56 pm
The US gov operates in fantasy land so why not bring in a fictional character?
samuel j
7 Jan 13 at 11:00 pm
The US already has one, Samuel – the composite Obama.
Gab
7 Jan 13 at 11:04 pm
Skuter
7 Jan 13 at 11:16 pm
Skuter
He doesn’t understand monetary economics.
JC
7 Jan 13 at 11:26 pm
[...] people in high places who think Krugman would have made a fine Secretary of the Treasury, not just columnists at The Grauniad. But as he puts it, why should he take a lower less influential job than the one he has already, a [...]
Krugman knocks back Tres Sec job he was never offered at Catallaxy Files
8 Jan 13 at 10:42 am
wow… krugman is in favor of the plan to mint a $1 trillion coin.
mundi
8 Jan 13 at 1:13 pm
Good idea! Iron Man for Treasury Secretary, and Hulk for Defence.
Tel
8 Jan 13 at 1:39 pm