UI Benefits Cut: Why Can't Sumner Just Admit He Loves it?

     He screams sweet vindication then is outraged when his gloating is duly noted. Does this sound like a guy who's upset that UI benefits are cut?

     "There is some interesting recent commentary over North Carolina’s reduced UI benefits (here and here).  I’m waiting until we have more data before I chime in.  I’m an agnostic on the issue, and don’t even know if state level results would carry over to the national level.  In 2014 we may get a similar experiment at the national level."

      "Update:  Kebko’s lastest update on North Carolina is fascinating."

     "PPPPS.  Off topic, but file this under “It’s good to be the king.”  King Obama has waved what the Supreme Court has ruled is a tax, for lots of Americans.  What a nice Christmas present!"

       http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2013/12/for-scott-sumner-its-most-wonderful.html

       Yes, you have to love how he structures these short paragraphs: for him, the nicest Chrismas present is all those 47 percenters kicked off UI. Yes, I know he tries to cover himself-sure he's 'agnostic' about the NC 'experiment'-I get it, that it's an interesting 'natural experiment' for aeconomists however, for all those booted off it's a cruel lump of coal and Sumner snidely mocks their pain I know, a real economist isn't even supposed to be aware of the human pain such poliies cause. Just like for Sumner, the sequester has been an glorious episode that he can gloat over as 'Yet another victory for Market Monetarists.'

      He accused me of-what else-not being equipped to pass the entrance exam to Econ 101. 

      Mike, You said;

     “The fact that you think it adds to employment would certainly imply you support it.”

You’ve just rejected the entire field of economics. By your logic all of economics 101 is wrong. 100% of it. Cost-benefit analysis? Never heard of it? So let me ask again, is this an act on your part?

Brad DeLong thinks it adds a half point to unemployment, do you think he supports it?

     http://www.themoneyillusion.com/?p=25583&cpage=1#comment-307252

     As I pointed in my answer though am I unreasonable in not looking at cost-benefit-when he's only discussed the cost side to UI? He's never mentioned the benefit side of it. 

      "You have certainly discussed UI a fair amount of times over the last 4 and a half years you’ve written the blog. I’m familiar with cost-benefit analysis. However, in all the posts I’ve seen you discuss UI you’ve only discussed the costs side."

     "So I guess I should just have presumed that you see benefits in it even though you never mentioned them? That would not have been a ‘moronic statement?’

     "I think it’s reasonable at least to assume as I did that you don’t see any benefits in it. Now of course maybe I’m wrong but this isn’t really my fault-if you think the point is important you should have qualified it: ‘I think that it may cutoff about half a point of employment however, it does have these positive benefits to it so it’s not black and white.’

      "As you didn’t do it all I could do is infer one way or the other. I guess I could have said ‘Scott often claims that UI raises unemployment significantly but of course he must know about its benefits as well he just never writes about them’ but why would that somehow be more reasonable than just going with what you’ve actually said and inferring accordingly?"

     "Again, if you don’t want to be mischaracterized on it then it’s on you not me to make sure you’ve clarified it and you can’t really act as if my reference is outrageous."

        I also offered him a friendly wager that I can pass a entry exam to Econ 101 without too much problem:

       "Scott I’ll tell you what. Let’s get a fair, impartial third party to administer an entry to Econ 101 and we’ll see how I do. I’d be wiling to d a friendly wager. Or I guess considering how you evidently feel about me-here I go inferring again-maybe it wouldn’t be so friendly."

      "I’d guess I’d do fine in it. I aced Macro and Micro back in college back in 1995 and back then I didn’t even have much interest in the subject."