This article is the smoking gun. Paul Krugman is a hack.
Nobody thinks the Nobel Laureate is a dummy. But, a lot of smart people have been scratching their heads for a long time over many of the strange things Krugman asserts in his non-technical writing, which seems so obviously partisan. My own theory is that political correctness is the only way this mildly autistic genius gets laid.
I am not the only one to think so. First,
"Anyone who has been paying attention will notice that a lot of economists are Aspies." Then,
"Turns out his wife is one of those light skinned black people [blue-eyed and long-haired], not unlike Rev. Wright, who are very angry. In fact, it seems that it was she who pushed him over the edge into becoming the crazy ass conservative hater he now is...What also stands out from the profile is just how Aspergery the guy is."
It remains that you cannot just wave away his arguments, preposterous as they are. But, to paraphrase Boris Shcherbina, this time "he made a mistake". Because he is smart, because he has always been able to push people around, intellectually, he has gotten careless. This time he writes an op-ed of evident banalities and "deepities" ("...a statement that is apparently profound but actually asserts a triviality on one level and something meaningless on another." Dennett explains.)
Let's go briskly through the article.
- Build Back Better "is primarily a plan to invest in America's future".
Every politician always says this about every plan. Krugman does not say why it is different this time.
- It's for the children. Every politician always says this about every plan.
Krugman does not say why it is different this time.
- Climate Change.
Is a boondoggle.
- "There's every reason to believe that these investments would be highly productive."
Like every boondoggle.
- "There’s overwhelming evidence that helping disadvantaged children makes them much healthier and productive when they reach adulthood."
Circular argument. He cites another baseless NYTimes article as his basis.
- The prospect of civilizational collapse.
Appeal to hysteria.
- Reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Magical thinking. No one anywhere has ever done any such thing, apart from nuclear energy, which they deprecate.
Finally, the hobgoblin of scoundrels: the ad hominem,
- "I guess reporting conventions require that journalists pretend to believe that Republicans have good-faith objections..."
Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman is a hack.
Q.E.D.
