An Inexact Science

In college, I took a couple of courses in economics, and was often frustrated with the same response as I pursued straight-forward answers, “Well, you know, Economics is an inexact science.” What kind of answer is that, I wondered?!

President Ronald Reagan probably felt the same way when he chaired a heated economic policy meeting only to turn to his chief of staff and ask “Can’t you get me a one-handed economist? I am tired of hearing, on one hand this, and on the other hand that.”

This leads me to question how on earth did Paul Krugman manage to receive a Nobel Prize in economics? For that matter, why aren’t they giving such a prize to Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos? Those two clearly understand the functioning of the real-world market more than Paul Krugman, or the 400 Ph.D. macro-economists employed by the Federal Reserve who collectively estimated the inflation rate at 2.4%, and anything above that to be “transitory.” Are these people so isolated in their ivory towers that they do not shop for food or buy gas?!

To prove that the ability to be really wrong is not age-related, Mr. Krugman did it again with his recent opinion piece in NYTimes called How Crypto Became The New Subprime, in which he states he is “seeing uncomfortable parallels with the subprime crisis of the 2000s,” as he then proceeds to wonder “maybe those of us who still can’t see what cryptocurrencies are good for other than money laundering and tax evasion are just missing the picture.” How “inexact” can one man possibly be?

I do not intend to come across as mean spirited when I pose this question: in a fast-moving world where the majority of Freshmen Engineering students are more tech-savvy at the practical level than their professors, how can it be that we elect people in their 70s to manage our economy or, for that matter, lead our country.

So the real question is, who is the next generation’s John Kennedy to lead us? Who is the new Paul Volker to fight inflation? Why are our best and brightest minds going into banking and technology, instead of public service?

Who is John Galt?

— Sina.

This Newsletter includes items reflecting the personal opinions of their respective authors. This forum is dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and welcomes alternative perspectives submitted in good faith. Neither the original submissions nor any counter-points represent the position of either City Club or Highland Institute. We invite you to engage in these discussions.