My Bad

Various economists are fessing up to past errors of judgement. The reader must judge the sincerity and remorse in these sentiments. Here are Brad DeLong, Tyler Cowen, and Megan McArdle.

I'm a physicist, not an economist, and my eccentric ideas in physics aren't even wrong - yet, so my confession will be about my political misjudgements.

  • I didn't think that Obama would be so easily cowed by the CIA, the DoD, and especially, Wall Street.
  • I drastically overestimated both his ability and his will to use the bully pulpit of the Presidency to lead the country. I underestimated his timidity and overestimated his fight.
  • I didn't think he would fiddle while the economy burned.
  • I didn't think that Republicans would try to wreck the country in their efforts to destroy Obama.

My bad.

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