Paul Krugman vs. Michael Kinsley

I won't claim to be half as smart about economics as is Paul Krugman, but I'm pleased to see his slap-down of Michael Kinsley.

Read Krugman's blog post below for his economy- and austerity-specific comments. But what really caught my attention was his dead-on remarks about Kinsley and New Republic weaknesses, which I've been saying for years (to nobody who cares, naturally).

Krugman on the attacks on his writings: "... I suspect it has a lot to do with the famed TNR/Slate premium on being 'counterintuitive,' which in practice meant skewering supposed liberal pieties."

And: "[T]his is not a game. We’re having a discussion about policies that affect tens of millions of people. And you have no business participating in this discussion if you’re so busy trying to sound clever that you can’t be bothered to do your homework." Echoes there of Harlan Ellison's famed comment that you're not entitled to your opinion; you're entitled to your informed opinion.

Most of you won't understand how dead-on his criticisms are of Kinsley and TNR, but for those of us who have read a lot of both, we can appreciate having a Nobel laureate in our corner.

Read Krugmans New York Times blog post.

European vs. American Economics: Paul Krugman Gets the Facts

Once again, The New York Times' economist and columnist Paul Krugman provides some clarity amid the illusions. He takes a look at the widely held belief in the United States that Europe's economy is stagnant, decaying, and out of date due to high taxes, high social spending, and all around general Europeanishness.

The reality, Krugman writes, is the opposite. The statistics for productivity, economic growth, and much else are very similar for the two economic blocs. Plus they have actual health care that people can use.

Of course, anyone who follows the news carefully could already have guessed that. Just this week, China officially assumed the mantel of the world's number-one exporter. No surprise there; we've been expecting it to happen any day now for years. But which country did China beat out for the title? Was it conservative powerhouse America? Low-cost India? No, it was Germany, the land of lengthy vacations, clean streets, high wages, and a strong social safety net. Even in the second slot, Germany ain't doing too badly. You know how American car companies are either bleeding money left and right or are welfare wards of the state? Volkswagen reported record sales and is on pace to become the world's top carmaker.

So why do we keep following the same political mantra in this country, like political lemmings headed over the cliff?