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Niall Ferguson Goes Searching For Paul Krugman's Embarrassing "Childhood Trauma"

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Update: Krugman's sociopathological (he welcomes the adjective - it "gets the public's attention") response to Bloomberg is below:

"My view is that I am indeed raising public awareness in an effective way -- because the crucial first step is to get the public's attention. We have a situation in which almost the whole political and media establishment is wedded to a pro-austerity narrative; as Ezra Klein pointed out recently, on fiscal issues reporters seem to feel that the usual rules about not taking sides don't apply. So anyone taking on that narrative has to be forceful about it."

"As for Ferguson: what a pathetic response. Notice that he is doing precisely what I never do, and making it about the person as opposed to his ideas. All I have ever done to him is point out that he seems to not know what he is talking about, and that he has been repeatedly wrong. I would never stoop to speculating about his childhood! If he can't handle professional criticism -- which is all that I have ever offered -- he should go find another profession."

"As for Mr. Rehn's complaint, I don't think he gets the meaning of the term 'personal attack.' I have never said anything about him as a person; I don't know anything about him as a person. All I have done is point out that he has been consistently wrong, and that he keeps making the same claims despite years of evidence refuting his propositions. Yes, I write colorfully, to get peoples' attention. But that's not a personal attack."

* * *

Those who have a life outside of finance (or any for that matter), will be excused to know that the man who has done everything in his power to become the biggest laugh out loud joke in the economic establishment (that would be Paul Krugman obviously) at least for those who harbor an original thought and are not indoctrinated by absurd political bias, has been recently engaged in a very public spat with a bunch of other sad self-caricatures, in this case assorted pro-austerity Eurocrats (where the concept of austerity is anything but what it should be, i.e., cutting spending and hiking taxes as seen by the ongoing records in debt in both Spain and Italy) personified mostly by European commissioner Olli Rehn. Krugman has written down his thoughts, for those who can stand his illogical, megalomaniacal, self-aggrandizing Keynesian gibberish, on the matter in "Rehn of Terror", and "Of Cockroaches and Commissioners", while the European take of this sad economist who thinks that "this time is different" and massive debt is the only fix for what is a "massive debt" problem, can be followed here.

And so finally the man who has been taking ad hominem shots at his opponents for years, instead of actually challenging their ideas because his ability to engage in a logical, factual manner is non-existent at best, and utterly humiliating at best, finally and deservedly finds himself on the receiving end of public ridicule and mockery.

To wit:

Stephen Roach: "This style of personalizing attack journalism is not effective in going deep and important policy issues."

Olli Rehn: "I would rather comment on the analytical substance rather personal attacks."

But the best comes from Niall Ferguson who told Bloomberg TV the following:

"In my view Paul Krugman has done fundamental damage to the quality of public discourse on economics. He can be forgiven for being wrong, as he frequently is--though he never admits it. He can be forgiven for relentlessly and monotonously politicizing every issue. What is unforgivable is the total absence of civility that characterizes his writing. His inability to debate a question without insulting his opponent suggests some kind of deep insecurity perhaps the result of a childhood trauma. It is a pity that a once talented scholar should demean himself in this way."

More from Bloomberg TV:

And while it is best to leave it at that, as it is a well-known truism that one shouldn't dirty their hands by handling matter of the Krugman kind, one does hope that a certain Carl Icahn does get involved and launch a 45 minute tirade against the liberal Op-Ed writer.

Alas, for that to happen, it would imply Krugman would have done at least one trade in his highly theoretical life. Which as everyone knows, has and will never happened: because reality, and the mathematical equations describing it are just two very different worlds for the trillion dollar coin-endorsing Nobel prize winner.

 

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Wed, 03/06/2013 - 15:39 | 3305740 riphowardkatz
riphowardkatz's picture

worse than being someone using ad hominens is just being a liar at worst or blnd at best.

"almost the whole political and media establishment is wedded to a pro-austerity narrative "

give me a break. that is so far from the truth.  

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 15:45 | 3305768 The Count
The Count's picture

While not (probably anyway) a criminal, Krugmann is just as overrated as Madoff was before the jig was up. Throw is Larry Summers and you have the 3 Stooges of Economics.

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 15:51 | 3305776 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 I can't wait until we get the next set of export data, and Krugman blames it's weakness on the strong $. Then he picks up the RedLine to the Bernanke and insists he raise pomo to $170b per month.

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 16:10 | 3305877 boy of steel
boy of steel's picture

niall ferguson is one of like 4 peope on the planet who is more of a joke than krugman.

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 16:23 | 3305930 caimen garou
caimen garou's picture

you know he is a full of shit if he comes to zh to save  face, a face that looks like he  would be ben bernakes son!

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 16:39 | 3305992 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

Ther are two stories about his childhood but I do not know which one is true.

The first says that his parents were so distraught that they ran awy from home.

The second story is that they would often put sausages around his neck to make the family dog play with him.

Like i said, I do not know which one is true.

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 16:49 | 3306032 geewhiz190
geewhiz190's picture

Isaw Krugman on Meet the Press one Sunday a couple of years ago and listened to him rip into Rogoff and Reinhart's book "It's Different This Time". He came off as a jealous small minded little prick and since then, I haven't paid any attention to a word he's said. The book was great.

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 16:53 | 3306044 Lendo
Lendo's picture

Krugman can choke on a bag of dicks. 

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 16:54 | 3306047 The Miser
The Miser's picture

Paul Krugman was consistently given wedgies as a child by others in his class.  Even the girls did it. 

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 17:21 | 3306119 Stud Duck
Stud Duck's picture

Keyensian Econ Theory is for the intellectually lazy and the greedy.

BUT, we have started down this road, there is no place to turn around, soooooooooo we gotta keep going till the road runs out or we drive out of the wilderness. Both options are nothing more than just letting things happen.

Sort of like walking into the bush, you know Charllie is out there, just where is the big question!

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 21:51 | 3307195 Temporalist
Temporalist's picture

I said last year:

"Krugman just won the Nobel for Graceless Impudent Spoiled Brat. One can tell that he was raised being praised all his life and never told to "SIT THE FUCK DOWN AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!" especially when it was needed most.  A perfect example of a child that needed corporal punishment more."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/ultimate-krugman-take-down#comment-2600785

 

"I doubt his parents let him near any of those "violent sports" that the dumb jocks play and had doctors notes for gym class.  It may well be that he's bitter but it's more likely a sexual inadequacy issue.  Probably always wanted to be just like his mom."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/ultimate-krugman-take-down#comment-2600994

 

Lil' Kruggie doesn't like having his feelings hurt.  He's going to hold his breath until he gets his way!

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 22:50 | 3307323 medium giraffe
medium giraffe's picture

Whatever credentials Dr. Krugman may flaunt, endorsing a Trillion Dollar coin flies in the face of any sort of reason at all.  If one can pull this trick, then it makes a discredited system into an utter mockery.  It also shows absolute distain for US trading partners, is insensitive to international economic difficulties and is potentially damaging for humanity at large.  It demonstrates an absolute 'fuck you' attitude to responsibility for debt and the responsibility that should come from being the licensee of the global reserve currency.  It is an isolationist beggar-thy-neighbour policy in the extreme.

Further, supporting such a measure flies in the face of the very philosophy, the highly overrated 'Keynsian economics', that the good Dr purports to hold so dear.  How can one have any trust in the basic functional mechanisms of an economic system in practice, namely supply, demand,  the exchange of currency for goods and services and indeed the use of credit, if such an aberration is allowed or even advanced as an idea?  I don't recall Keynes mentioning any sort of 'get out of jail free' sleight of hand, at least even he had greater integrity.

Such an endorsment also belies a naive character.  Reviewing the political processes and market conditions in play at the time the suggestion was made, it is almost certain that this was purely a diversionary stunt.  Not to recognise it as such, let alone actually entertaining the idea, is not the hallmark of a robust and enquiring intellect.

Why is this such a big deal?  Giving your personal blessing to such a desperately foolhardy and ignorant scheme, considering the full magnitude of the consequences of such an action, should be just cause for Dr Krugman to be discredited forevermore in the arena of serious economic debate.  He deserves to be taken no more seriously than a court jester henceforth.

Dr. K, please go and play outside and let the adults talk, I believe Benny has brought round his new toy tractor.

 

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 23:52 | 3307534 honestann
honestann's picture

For years Paul Krugman has been self-promoting himself for the position of chairman of the federal reserve in the only way he knows how.  Which is, of course, to clearly and vociferously promise to those who would appoint him that he will create astronomical debt faster than anyone in history, support central planning, support central manipulation, and support every form of tyranny.  Since that's what the predators-that-be want, he is doing a damn good job --- of promoting himself as replacement for Bernanke.

Wed, 03/06/2013 - 23:56 | 3307609 malek
malek's picture

He is way too intelligent to take on a job with real responsibilty especially chairman of the federal reserve - at least not before the system has already crashed, so no one can blame him for anything anymore.

That makes him so dangerous, being a very intelligent liar.

Thu, 03/07/2013 - 02:21 | 3307889 pfairley
pfairley's picture

Ferguson knows history much better, so knows WW2 deficits and debt do NOT mean salvation for the economy. World power, U.K.struggled after WW2, then had an IMF bailout after Egypt's seizure of the Suez in the 1950's, then another IMF bailout with another pound collapse in the 1970's (the G.Soros score).

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