Good comment on a Tyler Cowen post at Marginal Revolution wherein Cowen unearths an ancient Keynes letter providing some support for tax cuts. More fuel for my take that skepticism-verging-on-nihilism is the right answer when faced by economists splitting along party lines.
….negative externalities accrue when we disparage poor expert consensus in a way that doesn’t clearly lead to advocating for better expert consensus.
As for unearthing an old Keynes letter, I understand it may be fighting fire with fire, but really, I think the economics and legal profession should move away the pre-rational human tendency to want to derive policy wisdom from interpreting the texts of ancestors. Let’s leave that to religious fundamentalism.
I’m more intrigued by the empirical work of folks like Romer and Barro and others, than the dueling sacred texts of Keynes and Mises.
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