Well, that didn’t seem to take long.
After years and years of urging United States President Barack Obama to impose a massive stimulus package on everything and everything, even if it is financed by deficits and debt, he is now changing his tune in just two months.
Who are we talking about? Paul Krugman!
Ostensibly, Krugman has changed his mind about the whole deficit-financed spending ideology of his. For the last eight years, the Keynesian economist has demanded that the Obama administration and Congress move ahead with trillion-dollar spending sprees. It didn’t matter, according to Krugman, what it was. He just wanted more spending.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
It now appears that Krugman has done a complete 180 because President-Elect Donald Trump has embraced his ideas. Since Krugman’s Queen Bee – Hillary Clinton – didn’t win, he has gone all partisan and decided to abandon his stimulus ideas just because a Republican has decided to proceed with a cause that he has championed for years.
Here are two tweets that seem to be the polar opposites (thanks Tom Woods!):
October 23, 2016: “Why the debt scolds should be ignored: HRC should do years of deficit financed infrastructure spending if she can.”
Why the debt scolds should be ignored: HRC should do years of deficit financed infrastructure spending if she can https://t.co/fZAwIDHaHe
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) October 23, 2016
December 12, 2016: “After forcing destructive fiscal austerity when economy depressed, Rs turning to stimulus when it isn’t.”
After forcing destructive fiscal austerity when economy depressed, Rs turning to stimulus when it isn’t 1/ https://t.co/VDIHYVExDi
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 12, 2016
Huh?
Krugman is truly a funny guy. Housing bubbles, space alien invasions and Internet will be like the fax machine, Krugman has said some pretty wacky things over the years. But this may perhaps be the funniest just because of the partisanship, hypocrisy and contradiction.
As Woods recently wrote: “Now think hard. Who could be so partisan that in less than two months, ‘we must borrow and spend for as long as possible’ becomes ‘it’s stupid to borrow and spend at a time like this’?
Krugman, you are an original. You certainly provide the Austrians with a lot of laughter. Thank you.
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