Paul Craig Roberts Loses It
Paul Craig Roberts (PCR) first shows us why economists should stick to economics:
“The promised Iraqi election, if held, will settle nothing….
It has greatly damaged US credibility,
while greatly enhancing Osama bin Laden�s credibility.
Uh huh.
He then shows us why certain old economists who write about retirement should consider retirement themselves (From Business Weak, 3/7/2005 issue, not linked due to subscription requirement, excerpt constitutes fair use):
President George W. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security
is as ill-considered as his “cakewalk” invasion of Iraq.
This is a hard admission for an economist
who has long beat the drums for Social Security privatization.
PCR doesn’t say so explicitly, but by noting elsewhere in the Business Weak column that privatization was a good idea 20 years ago but that it won’t work now, he’s essentially saying it should never happen. He’s as wrong about this as he was on the Iraq election. Of course if privatization’s opponents manage to run out the clock for the next 5 years or so, it WILL be too late, because the conversion cost probably will be too high. Which is why PCR’s inexplicable conversion to wholesale negativism since September 11 is so unfortunate (see his Lew Rockwell column archive here).
It’s hard to believe now that this guy was with the Reagan Administration, and was once an important conservative writer for the Wall Street Journal.
The national dialogue would improve if HE would retire.
