Paul Krugman wins Nobel prize in economics

[Thomas Veil]

One of Bush/McCain/the Republicans' harshest critics has won the Nobel prize for economics:

Krugman wins Nobel economics prize
The New York Times columnist, Princeton professor and Bush administration critic awarded for theory on free trade and globalization.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Paul Krugman, the Princeton University scholar and The New York Times columnist, won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect trade patterns and the location of economic activity.

Krugman has been a harsh critic of the Bush administration and the Republican Party in The New York Times, where he writes a regular column and has a blog called "Conscience of a Liberal."

He has come out forcefully against John McCain during the economic meltdown, saying the Republican candidate is "more frightening now than he was a few weeks ago" and earlier that the GOP has become "the party of stupid."

Well deserved, IMO.

This guy is not only extremely smart, he makes the complexities of economics understandable in his appearances on various talk shows.

In an Oct. 13 column in the The New York Times, Krugman wrote that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling "defined the character of the worldwide rescue effort, with other wealthy nations playing catch-up."

Whereas U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson rejected a "sort of temporary part-nationalization" involving governments giving financial institutions more money in return for a share of ownership, the British government "went straight to the heart of the problem ... with stunning speed."

Krugman said the major European economies have "in effect declared themselves ready to follow Britain's lead, injecting hundreds of billions of dollars into banks while guaranteeing their debts."

"And whaddya know," Krugman continued, "Mr. Paulson - after arguably wasting several precious weeks - has also reversed course, and now plans to buy equity stakes rather than bad mortgage securities."

Oh, did I forget to mention he's entertaining as well?

Bravo, sir. Well done.

[Anuba]

Yeah, the Nobel committee is what conservatives would refer to as anti-American. The message here is "Bush sucks". Last year, when Gore received the peace prize, the message was "sign the Kyoto treaty you gas guzzling pigs". A few weeks ago, when asked why no American has won the Nobel prize in literature since Toni Morrison, the head of the academy basically explained that American literature is lightweight pulp they wouldn't touch with a 40 ft pole. If you thought Obama was "elitist", you haven't met Horace Engdahl. I have.

[Ntombi]

Well, I didn't really think Toni Morrison deserved it either. But that's neither here nor there.

I really enjoy reading Paul Krugman's NY Times pieces, and I appreciate his appearances on various MSNBC shows. I agree: he can talk about complex ideas in a way that makes them accessible, but doesn't dumb them down too much.

I've been a fan for years, and I was thrilled to hear the news this morning.

[Ugg]

He is brilliant although I only know of him through his NYT column. It's short, to the point and doesn't pull any punches. He truly tells it like it is. The US needs more straight talkers like him and fewer prevaricators like bushco.

[Thomas Veil]

Originally Posted by Ugg

The US needs more straight talkers like him and fewer prevaricators like bushco.

Well, if Warren Buffett turns down the offer to be Treasury Secretary........

Addendum: Here is the full Paul Krugman column, a portion of which was contained in my first post. It shows exactly the kind of clarity and simplicity we talked about. This man should be Treasury Secretary.