Scott Sumner Says What We’ve Been Waiting For
He’s been tip-toeing around it for over a year, but this is the clearest expression I’ve yet seen:
“Monetary policy is the Achilles Heel of free market economics.”
Now you might be thinking, “Exactly! I can’t stand all these ‘free market’ economists who think the one good the market can’t produce is money. They’ll talk your ear off about the wonders of supply and demand, and the dangers and absurdities of central planning, except when it comes to the money. In that case, the market is idiotic and leads to a decade-long slump like a turtle on its back, and central planners can save the day–so long as they read the right blogs.”
Except, of course, that’s not what Scott has in mind.
I keep crawling back to Scott’s blog, and then he keeps breaking my heart. When will I learn that he’s just no good for me?
This is why we get so frustrated.
He knows that monetary policy is the problem. He identifies it as a problem of the free-market, yet it is run by the central governement as a central planner and it is a price control to boot.
To add to his confusion, Sumner is against central planning and price controls.