Lieberman on economics

[Peter Dorman <dormanp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I noticed a short piece in the NY Times today in which Joe Lieberman denounced
Bush for his lack of understanding of economics.  Bush's failure,
in JL's view, was his statement that he (Bush) would be willing to cut
taxes and raise fiscal deficits during a recession.  According to
JL, this reveals ignorance.  Rather, during a recession, the most
important thing is to balance the budget at all costs, so that interest
rates don't rise!

Now, I realize that mainstream economists have been drifting steadily toward the Treasury View over the last few decades, but I doubt they've gone that far.  Even if you slept through Econ 101 you would probably know that Lieberman is talking nonsense.

It used to be that we criticized the Democrats for being indistinguishable from Rockefeller Republicans; now they are indistinguishable from Hoover Republicans.

Peter