Posted on 07/14/2010 10:47:30 PM PDT by citizenredstater9271
I stumbled across an interesting article a few days ago. Written by Kartik Athreya, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the article is titled "Economics is Hard. Don't Let Bloggers Tell You Otherwise."
The abstract of the paper declares,
In this essay, I argue that neither non-economist bloggers, nor economists who portray economics — especially macroeconomic policy — as a simple enterprise with clear conclusions, are likely to contibute [sic] any insight to discussion of economics and, as a result, should be ignored by an open-minded lay public.
To start, I might propose that the open-minded public ignore economists and organizations that are unable to run a spell-checker over the word "contribute."
But that takes me away from the issue.
If by "hard" Athreya means that economic concepts, and results, are sometimes counterintuitive, then I can agree. Examples include the following:
Giving the poor cash payments will result in fewer poor people — False. Or, setting limits on rent prices will make housing, overall, more affordable — Also false.
But that is not what Athreya means. He means that economics is so scientific and complex that the untrained economist (or a trained economist who simplifies the explanation or policy result) has nothing meaningful to contribute.
(Excerpt) Read more at mises.org ...
Economists are a bit like criminal profilers. The closer time and self perpetuating evidence takes them closer to the criminal or event the better their predictions are.
The whole damn lot of them are a bunch of witch doctors akin to global warming scientists
I suspect Dr. Urethra is a FReeper, but not a very good one nor a very frequent one. That Scribd screed was posted here on the same day it appeared there..
What an odd place to go for presumed advice to bloggers and those writing articles for internet publication. Couldn’t the good doctor get his effort out there via the channels he seeks to reach, lol?
The problem w/ economics today is 90% of economists are mathematicians who base everything on “getting the numbers up”. They should be focusing on how to preserve our individualist freedom. We keep seeing more and more gov. regulations as time goes by. Pretty soon most Americans won’t be able to start their own business b/c the gov. wants a piece of their pie. I suggest listening to Peter Schiff. He has the right idea.
90% economists try to model human needs and wants in a mathematics forumula. They’re typical of those who study a field who think they’re smarter than everyone else. Reminds me a quote “Its not my model thats incorrect, but reality”
Their answer tells me all I need to know about the state of their economic knowledge.
Truly free markets require no management, no economists, no nothing. Any attempt at management requires more management.
AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.
We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.
We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.
With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.
When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."
On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "The Wages of Sin is Death."
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
- Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936
Exactly. But liberals want more gov. control and wont stop until the gov. controls every industry.
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