Wenzel at the Fed

Bob Wenzel recently spoke at the New York Federal Reserve Bank and I include both his speech, which is a classic, and his remarks about the background of the speech. One thing I find interesting is that none of the economists there had any inkling of what the Austrians actually said versus what they "believed" the Austrians had said.

(One economist actually believed that the Austrians were the Chicago School and that the Austrians had invented the equation of exchange. I must admit to being floored by that one.)

I still have not watched the Krugman-Paul "debate," although I did read Krugman's snarky comments on his blog in which he accuses Dr. Paul of babbling. I especially find this quote to be interesting:

If Ron Paul got on TV and said “Gah gah goo goo debasement! theft!” — which is a rough summary of what he actually did say — his supporters would say that he won the debate hands down; I don’t think my supporters are quite the same, but opinions may differ. (Emphasis mine)

Yeah, Krugman believes that Really Smart and Serious People are his followers. I know one of his followers. He told me in the 1980s that the reason that the socialist economy of the Soviet Union was backward and chaotic was that the U.S.S.R. had not been a country as long as the United States. Chew on that one for a while.

Nonetheless, I love how Krugman sets himself up not only to be intellectually superior, but superior in every way to those mundanes who might believe that inflating money just might create long-term harm. Yeah, I know. Anyone who believes that really should be herded onto a farm somewhere and fed grass and oats.