Professor DeLong: What's your feeling about Greg Mankiw? Shouldn't this be a welcomed as one of the first good piece of news on the economic policy front? I would have never thought Mankiw be to the liking of neo-cons... maybe I just don't know enough about it.

Professor DeLong: What's your feeling about Greg Mankiw? Shouldn't this be a welcomed as one of the first good piece of news on the economic policy front? I would have never thought Mankiw be to the liking of neo-cons... maybe I just don't know enough about it.

On the assumption that the WSJ has its story straight, you have to wonder whether Bush administration views of Dam and Taylor don't reflect a certain brand of executive ego. If Dam and Taylor cannot bring themselves to nod quickly in support of whatever Bush/Cheney/Rove/(Hubbard?) say, that makes them indecisive. Fisher, on the other hand, sticking to the notion that concentrating issuance at the short end when long rates are low, is decisive. That's because issuing at the short end supports the fiction that deficits are temporary.

Didn't Makiw support the Bush tax cut plan, back in 2000?

Sorry - 'Mankiw'. Just in case there's a guy named 'Makiw'.

Mankiw did indeed support Bush plans on taxes, antitrust, and other key platforms. See http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/mankiw/columns/nov00.html
for his explanation of why he was voting for Bush against Gore.

Of course, that's how you get one of these appointments, isn't it.

A Shenfeld, thanks for the link. Supports my thesis that most, if not all, highly visible economists are right-wingers. I'd heard some things about Mankiw that lead me to suspect he was center or center-right, but the page you linked to paints quite a stark picture.

Your statement Of course, that's how you get one of these appointments, isn't it is far too charitable. Maybe Mankiw really voted for Bush because he actually believes the stupidities he uttered on the page you linked.

Best,

Best,

"thanks for the link. Supports my thesis that most, if not all, highly visible economists are right-wingers"

You are at the site of a highly visible economist who is not a right-winger.

Most? Possibly. Thankfull not ALL.

Greg Mankiw is a conservative Republican, which simply means doing the bidding of conservative Republican constituents. Happy the wealthy.

Ken,

Look at the Nobel Prize. Or the constant harping, which comes from centrist economists too (AFAIK), about disincentive effects of marginal income tax rates even at very high incomes. Or...well, it's a long list.

Best,