'Under-Stimulated Econogrouch' Krugman Swings at Ryan, Misses
Peter Suderman speaks truth:
Krugman [...] calls Ryan a “flimflam man” whose policy ideas consist of “leftovers from the 1990s” that are (and this is the really devastating part) “drenched in flimflam sauce” [...]. Too bad Krugman’s chief criticism is also pretty stale. His primary contention is that for all Ryan’s stated concern about the deficit, the congressman’s Roadmap—his long-term plan for restructuring the entitlement system and bringing the debt and deficit under control—doesn’t actually reduce the deficit. [...]
But this was all hashed out months ago between Ryan and the TPC. As Ryan has noted, his plan’s revenue estimates were made in consultation with the Treasury Department in 2009. And they were based on CBO’s alternative fiscal scenario, which, at the time the revenue projections were made, expected somewhat higher growth than when TPC performed its estimates. That probably explains some of the difference. But, says Ryan, if TPC’s projections looked to be accurate, he’d be happy to adjust his plan in order to meet his revenue targets. Does this sound like the work of a flimflam artist to you?
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May '10
Re: 'Under-Stimulated Econogrouch' Krugman Swings at Ryan, Misses
It seems like, for somebody whose answer is "government spending" regardless of the question, Krugman's feelings are hurt that so much of the electorate is abandoning him so quickly. For a little while when faith in private industry was at its lowest, he must have felt like the king of town.
Oh, and it's funny that somebody whose ideas are from the '30s would criticize Ryan for touting "leftovers from the 1990s."
Jun '10
Re: 'Under-Stimulated Econogrouch' Krugman Swings at Ryan, Misses
After Krugman's latest thrashing in by his own fans, who seem to have a better grasp of economics (and Krugman's own record!) than he does, and his overwrought response to comments on his blog, I think a better appellation for good old Paul would be "Overstimulated Econo-eunuch."
Paul Krugman spent a lot of years coaching Enron on creative economics. Why do we still listen to him?
Jul '10
Re: 'Under-Stimulated Econogrouch' Krugman Swings at Ryan, Misses
Nice try, but it doesn't wash. Ryan didn't make his revenue estimates in consultation with Treasury -- he says he made it "in consultation with Treasury and other experts", which is a weasel phrase meaning "I made the revenue estimates talking to the people who told me what I wanted to hear." If this really was a Treasury estimate, then there would be a Treasury document stating how it was done. How precisely were these estimates made? Where did they come from? What were the assumptions? Ryan won't say, and he won't ask the JCT to make 10-year estimates because that would be transparent.
Suderman claims that Ryan's estimates were based on the alternative fiscal scenario, but Ryan himself belies this by saying that CBO wouldn't give him a revenue estimate.
Bottom line: Ryan wants to take credit for his spending cuts, but not account for the massive revenue losses of the tax cuts. He believes that massive tax cuts will not yield to any loss of revenue, but he can't get anyone credible to say that, so he just skates over that. There's a word for that: flimflamming.