But Brad Please Tell Your Readers That Many Economists Said Bush Was Horrible from the Start

One of President Bush's first acts in power was to provide aid to the steel industry.  And several economist on the "right" voiced their opposition.  However, readers on Brad DeLong's blog continue to suggest that market oriented economists are only voicing opposition to Obama due to partisanship.  Brad seems to reinforce this impression.  Even while admitting that Kevin Murphy raises some strong points in his critique of fiscal stimulus, he raises questions about what would change Murphy's priors.

The bottom line, many economists are just economists and do not fancy themselves as members of this or that political party.  They just assess public policy using the tools of economic reasoning and their understanding of the history of economic policy.  Not everyone approaches these issues the same way Paul Krguman and Brad DeLong does.  Many economists quo economists were critical of Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, equally, for bad choices in economic policy.   Heck I bet you could find some economists who criticized Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter with equal veracity as well.  Neither Republican nor Democrat, but just economist.  Surprisingly, among those names would include Hayek, Friedman and Buchanan.  All three have rejected the "conservative" label --- explicitly so.  But it hasn't prevented intellectuals such as Krugman and DeLong (and their loyal readers) from such efforts at labeling opponents.  But what if it is not "right wing" nor "left wing" and instead is just economics.  Perhaps the logic and evidence of economics raises some serious doubts about the current policy path we are embarking upon.  That is an interesting concept.

Comments

[John V]

Pete says:

"Not everyone approaches these issues the same way Paul Krugman or Brad deLong does."

That's an understatement.

Their tone is almost always political and partisan. It's never just about economics.

They simply assume the same of others who disagree with them.

[C. Ashbaugh]

Perfect example is Peter Leeson's column on Somali pirates http://press.princeton.edu/blog/2009/01/21/adam-smith-meet-captain-hook-the-upside-of-pirate-greed-by-peter-leeson/ where a commenter responds intelligently...until the end where he calls Pete an ultra-conservative propagandist for big business, essentially. It's easier to label someone than to outsmart them, and if they've got the facts and logical mechanisms on their side, it is the *only* way to win.

[Daniel J. D'Amico]

a brief comment:

http://austrianaddiction.rationalmind.net/archives/2009/01/the-gap-between.html

[Bob Murphy]

I am not naming names but I must confess I thought I noticed a change in tone after the election. It seemed all of a sudden I agreed with the Big Gun economists when I had felt isolated before the election.

But maybe somebody gave me a hug after Obama won and my perspective changed.