Scott Sumner says there is no such thing as public opinion in economics. In other words, the average person is too ignorant of economics to have an intelligent position on the economy. Maybe then we should install a Sumner poll tax.
In the old day they used to give literacy tests down South to make sure the wrong people didn't vote-first of all, of course, Blacks. If Sumner is right then maybe there should be an economic literary test.
In reality this is why he prefers monetary to fiscal policy-the former is 'independent' of public opinion. in reality, I understand his position. If I were a conservative economist I'd feel that way as well as public opinion clearly disagrees with conservative economists. Historically we have things like laws against child labor, the 40 hour work week, the minimum wage and Social Security.
Right now, there is clearly a groundswell for the minimum wage in this country where even in the last 'GOP wave election' every ballot initiative for raising the MW passed even in the Red states.
As to the economic recovery, the GOPers have tried to claim that their austerity policies deserve credit while Obama has claimed the credit of his policies. Again, the public shows it's no friend of conservative economists-a la Sumner-by agreeing with the President. His numbers have show a significant bounce in the last month.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/01/20/morning-plum-obama-finally-gets-some-good-poll-numbers/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/congress-approval_n_6469556.html
Americans trust the President a lot more than Congress overall and say it is 'too stubborn' in refusing to work with him.
UPDATE: I should add that the Obama Administration is positioning his proposals the right way. Yes, the economy has come back but there is still a problem with stagnant wages and living standards. His proposals are designed for this next leg on the stool.
"With the American job market surging to life, President Obama plans to use his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to effectively declare victory over the economic hard times that dominated his first six years in office and advocate using the nation’s healthier finances to tackle long-deferred issues like education and income inequality."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/us/politics/ready-to-move-past-hardship-obama-resets-goals.html?_r=1
In the old day they used to give literacy tests down South to make sure the wrong people didn't vote-first of all, of course, Blacks. If Sumner is right then maybe there should be an economic literary test.
In reality this is why he prefers monetary to fiscal policy-the former is 'independent' of public opinion. in reality, I understand his position. If I were a conservative economist I'd feel that way as well as public opinion clearly disagrees with conservative economists. Historically we have things like laws against child labor, the 40 hour work week, the minimum wage and Social Security.
Right now, there is clearly a groundswell for the minimum wage in this country where even in the last 'GOP wave election' every ballot initiative for raising the MW passed even in the Red states.
As to the economic recovery, the GOPers have tried to claim that their austerity policies deserve credit while Obama has claimed the credit of his policies. Again, the public shows it's no friend of conservative economists-a la Sumner-by agreeing with the President. His numbers have show a significant bounce in the last month.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/01/20/morning-plum-obama-finally-gets-some-good-poll-numbers/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/congress-approval_n_6469556.html
Americans trust the President a lot more than Congress overall and say it is 'too stubborn' in refusing to work with him.
UPDATE: I should add that the Obama Administration is positioning his proposals the right way. Yes, the economy has come back but there is still a problem with stagnant wages and living standards. His proposals are designed for this next leg on the stool.
"With the American job market surging to life, President Obama plans to use his State of the Union address on Tuesday night to effectively declare victory over the economic hard times that dominated his first six years in office and advocate using the nation’s healthier finances to tackle long-deferred issues like education and income inequality."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/us/politics/ready-to-move-past-hardship-obama-resets-goals.html?_r=1
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