Mark Thoma goes ballistic
I don’t understand why someone with such a clownish views is lauded as a policy wonk:
What did Ayn Rand teach Paul Ryan about monetary policy?, by Brad Plumer: In 2005, Paul Ryan explained that he often looks to Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged” as inspiration for his views on monetary policy.
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[See Brad DeLong too: Reflections on Paul Ryan’s Transactions in Individual Bank Stocks in 2008.]
Romney and Ryan don’t approve of fiscal policy stimulus (unless it’s tax cuts for the wealthy), and Ryan would take away the ability of the Fed to respond to unemployment as well. Basically, they are telling us that if a recession hits and they have their way, nothing will be done. Not a thing. No fiscal policy response (except perhaps austerity to make it worse), and no monetary response (except, if Ryan has his way, interest rate increases based upon a misunderstanding of how the economy works — that would also make things worse). So it wouldn’t just be the “you’re on your ownership society” of Randian dreams, Ryan would have monetary and fiscal authorities making things even worse than they already are.
Ryan is not a well-informed policy wonk with new, exciting ideas. He’s a policy idiot. Don’t let this guy anywhere near the policy levers.
Dan:
Ryan is an f*cken idiot even if he is from Wisconsin. Ayn Rand had a love-passion for a psychotic who dismembered a 12 year old and indeed modeled one story after him.
Ryan is not an idiot, he is a child protected from maturation produced by reality do to his family fortune and government entitlements.
The man is impressed with himself and all he has is his molded physique.
Not to mention his “punishing” regime, described with an aura of exclusivity coupled with the joy of self-punishment.
I have watched Ryan win election after election in what was once a solid Democratic district based on screwing the working men and women who once made up the majority of voters in that district, but who no longer do as a result of plant closings. He is an idiot, but comes across as likeable and most voters and all pundits mistake his idiocy for intellect. He prevents Romney from veering toward the center which should help Obama, but make no mistake this is the opportunity that the GOP has been seeking for the last 70 years. I would feel a lot better about it if Obama had not proven to be so inept.
I know it’s a joy to trash guys like Ryan, so I hate to interfere. However, a guy who has managed to win a one-time Democratic congressional district over and over, to rise to the chairmanship of the House Budget Committee and now to end up what looks like about 80 electoral votes and one heart-beat away from the presidency is not stupid.
My old daddy once had lunch with one of the top guys in a giant ad agency in our town, and just could help but complain about one of the agencies new TV spots being really dumb. The ad man had a very simple answer: “That ad isn’t for you.”
Ryan may have, or may have had, a think for Rand’s writing, or he may simply have identified Rand as a box that had to be checked. Notice that, as his audience widens, he has taken to repudiating the godless woman.
Thoma had the right take in the beginning – Ryan is clownish. Clownish works. Whether he is a policy idiot is not known, because as a 21st century US politician, he knows better than to reveal his own policy thought. Perhaps he doesn’t actually have any. He has political thoughts and those are working pretty well for him.
The notion that Romney and Ryan would remain fiscal rocks if they should come to power is completely at odds with what we have seen from every Republican starting with Reagan. Talk a big game about fiscal restraint and then blow the budget to hell once you get elected. Why should an utterly cynical Romney and an utterly cynical Ryan be any different?
The information provided by DeLong is far more interesting, especially the trading done by Ryan on that faitful day of September 18th. Remember that that is the date of Ryan’s meeting with Paulson and Bernanke. Brad provides this quote from a Richmond newspaper report, “Ryan left the meeting and… sold shares of stock he owned in several troubled banks and reinvested the proceeds in Goldman Sachs, a bank that the meeting had disclosed was not in trouble….”
DeLong suggests that Ryan’s trades were either that of a fool or someone with better information than the rest of the invfestment world. One commenter, Steve, on Brad’s site did some homework and discovered that Ryan’s September 18th trades were all winners (the trade in Wachovia could not be valued). Three stocks were sold and all went down in value. Only the one buy trade saw its value go up, and substantially so. So is Ryan a fool or simply an unethical Galtian?
kharris:
Maybe they redrew the lines for the 1st Congressional District in Wisconsin? The history of that District has been mostly Republican with Dems scattered in amongst them (15 to 10) and this does make sense. Kenosha, Racine, Janesville and the associated counties are made up of labor and farmers.
I bought Govenor Dreyfuss daughter’s home in Madison. His words describing Madison were “100 square miles of dreamland surrounded by reality.” Madison, Socialist Milwaukee, and other enclaves scattered throughout the state are liberal and heavily populated. The rest is rural.
It is not a joy to see this great state struggle because a few have chosen to lie to those who would not know better. The taxes were always high, the schools exemplary, the services for the elderly and disabled above average, and no public union could strike. I raise my two sons and daughter there. They look to Wisconsin as home.
Ryan has no history and came out of the woodwork as some Senator’s clerk. He can not even claim to have run a busness. I will not preach ayn rand to you as your knowledge probably exceeds my knowledge in this area even though I have read her books.
Anyhoo, thank you for your comments.