Pull My Finger

What a gas! Professor Greg Mankiw (Harvard economist) nails both The Geezer and The Hillster on the gas-tax holiday scam. He finds them (1) ignorant, (2) arrogant, and (3) dishonest. That is a trifecta of repudiation. A plague on both their houses! If this is (fair & honest) debunking, so be it.

[x Greg Mankiw's Blog: Random Observations for Students of Economics]
In Praise of Gas Tax Hysterics
By Greg Mankiw

Paul Krugman (on today's NY Fishwrap Opinion page) thinks all of the fuss about the gas tax holiday has become a bit hysterical. He agrees that the policy is a bad idea, but it is no big deal, so let's not focus on it.

Paul is right that the issue is, quantitatively, small potatoes, but I am nonetheless pleased to see it get so much attention. This issue is like the canary in the coal mine: No one really cares about the canary, but its condition tells us about deeper problems that lie below.

Many economic issues (e.g., health care, corporate taxation, the trade deficit) are vastly complicated, with experts holding a variety of opinions. When candidates disagree, it simply means that each is siding with a different set of experts, and it is hard for laymen to figure out which set of experts is right. By contrast, the gas tax holiday is not nearly as complicated, and the experts speak with one voice.

Why, then, are candidates proposing the holiday? I can think of three hypotheses:

Ignorance: They don't know that the consensus of experts is opposed.

Hubris: They know the experts are opposed, but they think they know better.

Mendacity with a dash of condescension: They know the experts are opposed, and they secretly agree, but they think they can win some votes by pulling the wool over the eyes of an ill-informed electorate.

So which of these three hypotheses is right? I don't know, but whichever it is, it says a lot about the character of the candidates.

[Professor Mankiw's Blogger(!) Profile: I am a professor of economics at Harvard University, where I teach introductory economics (ec 10) among other courses. I use this blog to keep in touch with my current and former students. Teachers and students at other schools, as well as others interested in economic issues, are welcome to use this resource.]

Copyright © 2008 Greg Mankiw

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¡Basta ya!

The electoral equivalent of Chinese water torture dripped on us again last eve. The Hillster eked out a win in the Hoosier State and The Hopester won big in the Tarheel State. The Geezer spoke to a disappointing crowd in Winston Salem, NC and his words went unheard by most in North Carolina. Perhaps The Geezer's Tarheel supporters were already lining up at the pump for cheap gas.

Some restaurants feature "Death by Chocolate" desserts. We are being treated to steady diet of "Death by Primary Elections." The editorial cartoonist in Palm Beach, Don Wright, was on target today: this system is daffy. He might have substituted Walt Disney's Goofy for Warner Brothers' Daffy. The system is both daffy and goofy. Enough already! If this is (fair & balanced) political fatigue, so be it.

[x Palm Beach (FL) Fishwrap]

Copyright © 2008 Don Wright
Click image to enlarge.

[Don Wright is a cartoonist known for his editorial cartoons. He started his newspaper career as a photogapher and photo editor, switching to editorial cartooning in 1963. He worked for The Miami News until it ceased publication in 1988, and has worked at The Palm Beach Post since then. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1966 and 1980 and the National Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award for 1985. He has also won the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism twice, the Inter American Press Award three times, the Overseas Press Club Award five times, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Award twice, the National Headliner Award and the Best of Cox Award twice. His cartoons have been published in three books.]

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