Liberal Economists Read the Tea Leaves

We have our own local liberal "economic" columnist Ron Eachus who, if he were playing professional baseball, would be on his way back to Single A Poughkeepsie with a .078 average on economic questions. Things aren't much better, though, in The Show. The New York Times has its own economic columnist from the Twilight Zone, none other than the Nobel prize-winning, Enron-advising, Paul Krugman, who James Taranto delightfully skewers in today's Best of the Web in the Wall Street Journal:

Two Papers in One!

• "There's a problem: conservative politicians, clinging to an out-of-date ideology--and, perhaps, betting (wrongly) that their constituents are relatively well positioned to ride out the storm--are standing in the way of action. No, I'm not talking about Bob Corker, the Senator from Nissan--I mean Tennessee--and his fellow Republicans. . . . I am, instead, talking about Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and her economic officials, who have become the biggest obstacles to a much-needed European rescue plan."--former Enron adviser Paul Krugman, New York Times, Dec. 15, 2008
• "Why is Europe falling short? Poor leadership is part of the story. European banking officials, who completely missed the depth of the crisis, still seem weirdly complacent. And to hear anything in America comparable to the know-nothing diatribes of Germany's finance minister you have to listen to, well, Republicans."--Krugman, New York Times, March 16, 2009
• "The European economy bounced back with unexpected strength in the second quarter, buoying hopes that a worldwide recession was drawing to a close. The sharp improvement from the first quarter underscored just how far Europe and indeed the global economy had come since a harrowing free fall in late 2008. Underlying the strong reading were solid performances in France and Germany, each of whose economies grew slightly in the second quarter, according to government data released Thursday."--news story, New York Times, Aug. 14, 2009

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204683204574356512455523766.html

Maybe reading coffee grounds or chicken bones would be more effective?