To be fair, the WSJ was garbage even years before Murdoch, when you had people like John Fund and Stephen Moore on its editorial board. These guys are all gold bug, hard-money, Laffer-supply side morons who got everything wrong for years. (And all friends with doofus, Steve Forbes, silver spoon in the mouth Clown Boy.)
So it's fun to watch Ben Bernanke rip those editorial idiots over there at WSJ a new asshole (in Bernanke fashion).
Some comments from Bernanke's blog today:
"It's generous of the WSJ writers to note, as they do, that "economic forecasting isn't easy." They should know, since the Journal has been forecasting a breakout in inflation and a collapse in the dollar at least since 2006, when the FOMC decided not to raise the federal funds rate above 5-1/4 percent."
"I am waiting for the WSJ to argue for a well-structured program of public infrastructure development, which would support growth in the near term by creating jobs and in the longer term by making our economy more productive. We shouldn't be giving up on monetary policy, which for the past few years has been pretty much the only game in town as far as economic policy goes. Instead, we should be looking for a better balance between monetary and other growth-promoting policies, including fiscal policy."Way to go, Ben.
The WSJ should change its slogan from The Diary of the American Dream to, The Diary of the American Delusion.
Then the Benster writes: But nobody claims that monetary policy can do much about productivity growth.
ReplyDeleteWhich is the opposite of what comes from monetarist theory. Supposedly, low interest rates (last I checked a component of monetary policy) incentivize businesses to borrow and invest. A lot of people have claimed monetary policy can stimulate productivity gains -- maybe he has forgotten.