Ivory Tower Economists Dismiss Inflation

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In 1957’s Sweet Smell of Success, perhaps one of the greatest pictures ever made, Burt Lancaster’s powerful New York columnist character tells Tony Curtis,who
spends most of the film doing his dirty work in exchange for space in a newspaper column, “I’d hate to take a bite out of you, you’re a cookie full of arsenic.” It appears establishment economists are willing to make a similar trade, sacrificing their long-term credibility for a taste of acclaim today. Economists, particularly of the leftist persuasion, have routinely defended the policies of the Biden administration, despite today’s rampant inflation. These distinguished individuals try to dress up the Democrats’ abysmal efforts and call it manna, while sacrificing the economics profession and its legitimacy.

Paul Krugman Rejects Inflation Reality

U.S. annual inflation is the highest in nearly 40 years, flirting with the 7% mark. The Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation measurement, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, is also at a multi-decade high. Suffice it to say, this inflationary environment is threatening both the post-pandemic economic recovery and the personal finances of millions of poor and middle-class households. But one economist will not weep for those impacted by inflation.

Paul Krugman, the Keynesian darling of the establishment, has regularly written about America’s most pressing problem, recently tweeting, “‘Inflation especially hurts the poor’ has truthiness — it sounds like it should be true. But I don’t see either evidence or a mechanism.” Krugman’s flippancy regarding the plight of millions of Americans

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