Thursday, August 6, 2009

Paul Krugman runs into reality

Just like the Oscars, the standards of the Nobel Prize have really fallen (I’m not including the hard sciences).They will now give them to just anybody –even the likes of Paul Krugman. Or, especially the likes of Paul Krugman.

Paul Krugman is undoubtedly very smart.  Paul Krugman also undoubtedly knows quite a bit about economics.  But. . .he just doesn't know how to apply it, to separate facts from his wishes.

  
In his columns at the New York Times and other outlets he constantly flogs the joys of the Canadian health care system.  As a participant on a panel recently, spouting once again on the superiority of  Canadian health care, he asked the Canadians to raise their hands.  Seven went up.  Confidently and smugly he then asked them how many think Canada has a bad health care system?  Whoops!  Most of the Canadian hands shot up!   "Bad move on my part!"


No, Nobel Prize for Economics winner Paul Krugman, propagandizing for a system you don't experience is the bad move.  Not letting facts get in the way of your theories is the bad move.  And doing so impedes fixing some of the admitted flaws in our system.

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