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Paul “I’m not Galbraith” disses Larry “I’m not Krugman” Summers

- January 22, 2013

The celebrated economist and pundit writes:

Mark Thoma is puzzled: if Larry Summers is going to write a piece about how we’re obsessing too much about the deficit, why begin with two paragraphs about how the deficit is a big problem?

But there’s no mystery: that’s the INK disclaimer — I’m Not Krugman. It’s supposed to establish Larry’s bona fides as a Serious Person, appeasing the deficit scolds so that he can get on with the substance of his argument.

I’m not saying that Krugman is wrong, here, but not so many years ago he was the Very Serious Person, explaining to the world that John Kenneth Galbraith was a mere “celebrity economist . . . never been taken seriously by his academic colleagues.”

P.S. More on Krugman and Galbraith here, from Henry Farrell.