A critic of Paul Krugman impersonated Krugman online and posted a false message about Tuesday's East Coast earthquake and the economy. That message, in turn, was reported by other journalism outlets, including the National Review and other critics of Krugman.
Here's the false posting:
People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Paul Krugman addressed it in his blog:
Identity Theft
Well, this is interesting. I hear that the not-so-good people at National Review are attacking me over something I said on my Google+ page. Except, I don’t have a Google+ page.
snip
This is really cute, not. Apparently some people can’t find enough things to attack in what I actually say, so they’re busy creating fake quotes. And I have enough on my plate without trying to chase all this stuff down.
So if you see me quoted as saying something really stupid or outrageous, and it didn’t come from the Times or some other verifiable site, you should probably assume it was a fake.
The New York Times, Paul Krugman
The perpetrator admits it, even brags about it:
Approximately a month ago, having been laid off and having too much time on my hands, I finally decided to create my own personal account on Google+. I found it to be extremely boring, mostly because no one I knew had an account and my needs for instant news had long been satisfied by twitter. To kill some time and fully delve into what Google+ had to offer, I decided to create a gimmick account of Paul Krugman and see what happened.
snip
I do not regret writing it and I hope it will enlighten many on the perverse economic views held by a Nobel winning economist writing for the New York Times who also lectures at Princeton University.
I'm not going to bring him traffic. If you want to read it, follow the link in the Post-Dispatch article. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
He brags that he "studied Economics and Political Science at Florida State University and graduated in Spring 2010." And he thinks he's smarter than a Nobel Prize winning economist.
Florida State University. Hmmm. That reminds me of a diary I wrote a few months ago. Yes, this may be why he thinks he's smarter than Krugman:
TomP: Koch Buys Econ Dept. at Florida State U
Hard to believe, isn't it? Okay, it's not the entire department, just a few hires, $1.5 M worth:
A conservative billionaire who opposes government meddling in business has bought a rare commodity: the right to interfere in faculty hiring at a publicly funded university.
A foundation bankrolled by Libertarian businessman Charles G. Koch has pledged $1.5 million for positions in Florida State University's economics department. In return, his representatives get to screen and sign off on any hires for a new program promoting "political economy and free enterprise."
snip
Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it's not happy with the faculty's choice or if the hires don't meet "objectives" set by Koch during annual evaluations.
snip
During the first round of hiring in 2009, Koch rejected nearly 60 percent of the faculty's suggestions but ultimately agreed on two candidates.
(quoting St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times: Billionaire's role in hiring decisions at Florida State University raises questions) (link in diary)
So you get a degree from Koch Bros. U, get laid off from your job, and in your spare time you misrepresent yourself as Paul Krugman on line.
And the National Review eats it up. These right wingers put the "d" in dumb.
The dumbing down of American education is part and parcel of the Koch Brothers agenda.
Update I: More from Paul Krugman on this:
Also, the gullibility on display was impressive. All these right-wing hacks knew it must be a genuine quote, because they all knew that I’m a terrible person — based on past distortions!
And I’d be willing to bet that this fake quote will continue to pop up on right-wing blogs and talk radio for years to come.
Update: Just to be clear: World War II was expansionary because it led to a large increase in public spending — and even so, that didn’t make war desirable! Meanwhile, natural disasters in America don’t lead to big public spending increases — look at how pitiful the aid post-Katrina was. If you think I believe that disaster is good for its own sake, you have drunk the Kool-aid.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/...