September 20, 2009
Reforming Wall Street
Reform or Bust
“It’s time for the president to realize that sometimes populism, especially populism that makes bankers angry, is exactly what the economy needs.”
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#1 Paul Krugman
The New York Times
Paul Krugman is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times and the winner of the Nobel Prize in economics in 2008.
More information
A longtime professor at Princeton, Krugman earned a coveted slot in the Times op-ed stable in 2000 for his skill at analyzing the intersection between government and economics. But it was his ardent criticism of President George W. Bush that won him a huge following on a range of issues. Today, he is one of the left's most influential economists, a position solidified by his Nobel and his ongoing coverage of the global economic crisis.
There are two Krugmans: the international-trade theorist idolized by his economic peers, and the partisan columnist. Both excel at their tradecrafts, yet differ in style, rigor, and emphasis. As an economist, Krugman once advocated free trade and the abolition of rent control. Since he joined the commentariat, however, his positions are sometimes criticized for seeming more determined by ideology than economic merit. Even The New York Times' ombudsman has accused Krugman of "the disturbing habit of shaping, slicing and selectively citing numbers in a fashion that pleases his acolytes but leaves him open to substantive assaults."
A longtime professor at Princeton, Krugman earned a coveted slot in the Times op-ed stable in 2000 for his skill at analyzing the intersection between government and economics. But it was his ardent criticism of President George W. Bush that won him a huge following on a range of issues. Today, he is one of the left's most influential economists, a position solidified by his Nobel and his ongoing coverage of the global economic crisis.
There are two Krugmans: the international-trade theorist idolized by his economic peers, and the partisan columnist. Both excel at their tradecrafts, yet differ in style, rigor, and emphasis. As an economist, Krugman once advocated free trade and the abolition of rent control. Since he joined the commentariat, however, his positions are sometimes criticized for seeming more determined by ideology than economic merit. Even The New York Times' ombudsman has accused Krugman of "the disturbing habit of shaping, slicing and selectively citing numbers in a fashion that pleases his acolytes but leaves him open to substantive assaults."
Paul Krugman on All Topics
Displaying 46-60 of 115
September 17, 2009
Health Care Reform
Baucus and the Threshold
“Even if the Baucus plan gets better, rather than worse, what emerges won’t be legislation reformers can love. Will it nonetheless be legislation that passes the threshold of acceptability, legislation they can vote for? We’ll see.”
September 15, 2009
Stimulus Package
Macro Situation Notes
“We need more stimulus. Yes, it would add to federal debt -- but isn't that worth doing to help reduce an output gap that’s wasting our potential at the rate of more than a trillion dollars a year?”
September 5, 2009
Economic Policy
A Few Notes on My Magazine Article
“The economy is a complex system of interacting individuals -- and these individuals themselves are complex systems. Neoclassical economics radically oversimplifies both the individuals and the system.”
September 2, 2009
Economic Policy
How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?
“When it comes to the all-too-human problem of recessions and depressions, economists need to abandon the neat but wrong solution of assuming that everyone is rational and markets work perfectly.”
August 30, 2009
Health Care Reform
Missing Richard Nixon
“Moderate Republicans, the sort of people with whom one might have been able to negotiate a health care deal, have either been driven out of the party or intimidated into silence.”
August 27, 2009
Recovering from Recession
Till Debt Does Its Part
“Right now deficits are actually helping the economy.”
August 23, 2009
Health Care Reform
All the President’s Zombies
“Washington, it seems, is still ruled by Reaganism -- by an ideology that says government intervention is always bad.”
August 20, 2009
Health Care Reform
Obama’s Trust Problem
“Let’s be clear: the supposed alternative [to the public option], nonprofit co-ops, is a sham.”
August 16, 2009
Health Care Reform
The Swiss Menace
“So where does Obamacare fit into all this? Basically, it’s a plan to Swissify America, using regulation and subsidies to ensure universal coverage.”
August 13, 2009
Health Care Reform
Republican Death Trip
“What’s still missing, however, is ... passion for the goal of ensuring that every American gets the health care he or she needs, outrage at the lies and fear-mongering that are being used to block that goal.”
August 9, 2009
Recovering from Recession
Averting the Worst
“So it seems that we aren’t going to have a second Great Depression after all. What saved us? The answer, basically, is Big Government.”
August 6, 2009
Town Hall Turmoil
The Town Hall Mob
“The driving force behind the town hall mobs is probably the same cultural and racial anxiety that’s behind the 'birther' movement, which denies Mr. Obama’s citizenship.”
August 2, 2009
Wall Street and Banking
Rewarding Bad Actors
“Neither the administration, nor our political system in general, is ready to face up to the fact that we’ve become a society ... that lavishly rewards those who make us poorer.”
July 30, 2009
Health Care Reform
Health Care Realities
“Mr. Obama basically proposes using additional regulation and subsidies to make decent insurance available to all of us. That’s not radical; it’s as American as, well, Medicare.”