It’s Official, Paul Krugman Is The Nation’s Most Partisan Economist

A study from, Econ Journal Watch, was recently published and it discusses  whether economists change their viewpoint on budget deficits when the White House changes political parties. The author, Brett Barkley, analyzed a specific group of economists by;

“….examined statements from 17 economists from 1981 through 2009, and gauged the consistency of their stances on deficit spending and reduction during Republican and Democratic administrations.

According to the study, Krugman was the only economist of the 17 to “significantly” change his stance on the federal budget deficit for partisan reasons.”¹

This is no surprise to me, after all, Krugman does suffer from post traumatic nobel prize irrelevance. Below is a excerpt from Barkley’s study;

During the administration of George H.W. Bush, Krugman opposed budget deficits:

Longer term, the war may well hurt the US. By raising the federal budget deficit, Operation Desert  Storm will crowd out some investment in the US economy, which has the lowest saving and investment rates in the industrial world. (Krugman 1991)

A year later, during the 1992 presidential campaign he changed his tune, perhaps to accommodate Clinton policies:

If a President can save $1 billion through feasible cuts in spending or raise $1 billion by taxing high-income families, should that money be used to reduce the deficit or help repair bridges and finance Head Start? Mr. Clinton’s answer is that investments should have first priority. He’s right. (Krugman 1992)

Krugman commented seven times during the Clinton administration. Five of those comments occurred during the 1996 campaign season, in which Krugman primarily criticized  Republican policy regarding the budget deficit. Approximately 71% of his comments occurred during the second Bush administration. Beginning in 2003, the year of the Iraq insurgency, Krugman opposed budget deficits strongly and frequently. Thirty-one of his ninety-nine comments came in 2003.

To add to Krugman’s absurdity, he has this to say as a possible remedy to Greece’s economic condition;

“First, Greek workers could redeem themselves through suffering, accepting large wage cuts that make Greece competitive enough to add jobs again.”²

I wonder why he did not offer such insight to President Obama? Krugman’s hypocrisy and self-exaltation make it difficult to recognize any benefit he may provide to the field of economics, and I won’t hold my breath to see if he changes.

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¹ From Lachlan Markay’s article, Paul Krugman Is Nation’s Most Partisan Economist, Study Finds.

² From Paul Krugman’s OP-ED column in The New York Times.

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