Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle
“Economist John Maynard Keynes once remarked, ‘Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.’ The wry commentary eventually curdled into ironic prophecy, as Keynes became one of those defunct economists. His prescription for countercyclical stimulus mutated into a belief that government spending was a kind of perpetual motion machine: Since spending creates jobs and jobs create spending, you could fuel an increasingly virtuous cycle with ever-expanding outlays. This garble led to unnecessary stimulus during post-pandemic recovery and then some unnecessary inflation. Alas, this is common in public policy fights. Expert debates grounded in the conditions of a particular time get filed down to sound bites in media reports. Years later, half-remembered versions inspire policies that are at best inappropriate to the current moment and, at worst, counterproductive.” (03/29/26)