Paul Krugman, fallen intellectual

I refer to myself as a Paul Krugman hipster, I like his old stuff better from before he sold out.

And Krugman did indeed sell out. He's gone from a brilliant economist with a talent for writing into a smug, partisan hack. I'm not the first to say this, but I'm happy to say the most recent Krugman critic is progressive economist Jeffrey Sachs, who recently wrote about Krugman's failure to admit his recent predictions on the economy have been wrong, such as the fall in the unemployment rate.

Not one of his New York Times commentaries in the first half of 2013, when “austerian” deficit cutting was taking effect, forecast a major reduction in unemployment or that economic growth would recover to brisk rates. On the contrary, “the disastrous turn toward austerity has destroyed millions of jobs and ruined many lives,” he argued, with the US Congress exposing Americans to “the imminent threat of severe economic damage from short-term spending cuts.” As a result, “Full recovery still looks a very long way off,” he warned. “And I’m beginning to worry that it may never happen.”

Despite that, Sachs characterizes Krugman's year-end column as a "victory lap" about his own predictions.

Come back to us Paul; you've lost your way.