Posted on 11/17/2010 7:08:19 AM PST by SeekAndFind
We dislike him, we ridicule him, and we tend to dismiss him, but here’s the sad truth: Paul Krugman’s influence is vast, and conservatives have no effective counterpoise.
Over the past twelve months, Krugman has become the de facto official spokesperson for more government spending, larger federal deficits, and an aggressive monetary policy (including major asset purchases by the Federal Reserve like the one earlier this month). He reaches large audiences via his twice-weekly column in the New York Times and his blog on the New York Times website, to which he posts with impressive frequency — sometimes two or three times per day.
The Wall Street Journal would do its cause, and the cause of conservatism, a tremendous service by offering a similar platform to an outspoken and eloquent conservative economist. It should provide somebody a weekly column, a prominently featured blog, and a mandate to vigorously advocate free-market principles and supply-side economics. This person’s understanding of economics will need to be as deep as Krugman’s, so that he or she can comfortably spar with Krugman even on complex and highly technical subject matter; and the person will also need Krugman’s skill of explaining abstruse topics in a way that can be easily understood by non-economists.
The Wall Street Journal does not presently have such a columnist. Holman Jenkins writes a weekly column titled “Business World”, but he is not a heavyweight scholar of economics and his columns rarely address the macro-economic topics on which Krugman regularly opines. Arthur Laffer contributes, but not with sufficient frequency. We need somebody who can craft a coherent argument and then hammer it home, week in and week out. Someone who can regularly spar with Krugman and rebut his columns and blog posts.
Who might be suitable for such a role? It will be important to cast a wide net and thoroughly survey the pool of conservative economists who have penned compelling punditry, but it would probably have to be somebody in the mold of a John Taylor, a Niall Ferguson, or a Gregory Mankiw.
Yes, the recent elections suggest that Krugman’s side is losing in the battle for public opinion. But we ought not grow complacent. Krugman remains very effective at advancing, through widely read channels, a fiercely liberal economic viewpoint. He is influencing the terms of the debate, especially among educated professionals. We need an anti-Krugman, and what better place for him than in the pages of the Wall Street Journal?
— Alexander Benard is managing director of a D.C.-based consulting and investment firm.
I really miss Uncle Miltie (Milton Friedman). Ever since he died, free marketers have not had an effective and influential spokesman in the media like him.
No one is buying Krugman’s dog food.
See election - midterm!!!!
What’s wrong with Thomas Sowell??
Larry Kudlow! He’s on A MessNBC and always wears an American Flag lapel pin.
Raghuram Rajan at the University of Chicago and Paul Krugman don’t agree with each other on much, which makes me think Rajan might be a voice of reason.
His book, Fault Lines, is out now. Krugman ripped it apart, and Rajan ripped apart his “critique” in the WSJ
Really??? What do you call Rush??? This is just more looking at / trying to ape the MSM, while denigrating our own strengths. We will not develop someone on the right who influences the left / MSM. The closest we had was Bill Buckley.
They should have him do a business plan for them instead of writing advise for the economy.
Oh thats right he sent them to Carlos Slim to borrow as much money as they could. Then he will ask Obama to wipe out the Bondholders like GM did for Unions.
I wonder if the US public will buy cars from China Motors? Its going to be funny when they tell the Unions take a hike.
Bingo.
Sowell makes Krugman look like a grade schooler trying to fit a square block into a round hole.
Walter Williams?
In my opinion, the people at Investors Business Daily are the ones who are up to the job, not the WSJ.
At one time the Journal would have been but they’ve been bitten by the ‘PC bug’ and worry too much about acceptance by the left, as evidenced by their open borders nonsense, among other things.
I’m surprised there hasn’t been a conservative counterpart to Krugman already. But, maybe IBD will do it.
Off hand, I can’t think of a Conservative economist who can lie like Krugman.
Drs Sowell and Williams are indeed massively brilliant, skilled writers who effortlessly draw rings around Krugman while he’s still sharpening his crayon.
Problem is, both are in their 70’s now. What might be needed (but probably isn’t, in truth) is someone in their 40’s or 50’s who can devote the next 20-30 years to deconstructing the ‘philosophical’ mess Krugman and his ilk have confected in the liberal minds.
What we really need is for the NYT to just go bankrupt and take all those petty apparatchiks down with it.
NO! NO! NO!
He is totally pro illegal immigration. He will cut anyone off on his radio show who brings up the topic. And then, he will go into a 5 minute spiel on the "benefits" of such.
I vote for Thomas Sowell, or Walter Williams.....
Why would we need a Krugman? There are tens of millions of Americans with common sense.
They are such likable figures as well, Krugman always comes across as a jackass.
I think their age only gives them more credibility .....and until they reach room temperature, we need their powerful wisdom and way with words.......
Cut’em loose, WSJ!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.