Gittins goes feral about libertarians
Grrrr... Gittins on the prowl
Left-wing economic journalist Ross Gittins has just discovered the word “libertarian” and he’s not happy. Of course, he hasn’t yet discovered what it means, but he’s fairly sure it means something scary and bad.
As is standard for a paleo-Keynesian, Gittins is sure that regulation and activist fiscal policy are good things. He simply asserts that the recent recession proves his case. He doesn’t rebut the overwhelming evidence for partial ricardian equivalence… he doesn’t rebut the undeniable fact that internationally financed debt must be 100% crowded out through lower net exports (indeed, like most Keynesians, he probably doesn’t understand this point)… and he doesn’t rebut the likelihood that domestically financed debt will also involve some crowding out.
For thinking people, it is basically a fact that activist fiscal policy has little impact on the size of the economy, and is likely to be a net negative. But Gittins sees no need for rational discussion of the facts. Instead, he has written a grossly dishonest string of insults against ideas that he doesn’t understand.
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