I’ve never been a fan of Paul Krugman’s, nor has Dr. Sanity, to say the least. About his Nobel Prize, I say par for the course, big effing deal, whatever.
Antiplanner is only slightly depressed, at least appreciating Krugman for “understanding that the housing bubble was caused by land-use regulation.” His biggest concern is Krugman’s prize will only strenthen his influence in Washington:
…the big danger is that the government will make the same mistakes it made in the Great Depression: raising taxes and imposing anti-trade tariffs. A slightly smaller danger is that Congress will pass a New Deal-like stimulus package that spends hundreds of billions of dollars on inane “infrastructure” projects in the name of creating jobs — which will only prolong the recession as such spending crowds out investments in more productive activities. Unfortunately, Krugman’s prize will only make these outcomes more likely.
Indeed.
