> I've noticed there's a bizarre phenomenon surrounding Krugman where people just refuse to read what he says and instead put all kinds of nonsense into his mouth.
It's because he writes like a Nobel award winning economist. Meaning a dry writing style, and advanced concepts.
Most people hated economics in school (either because they don't understand it, or found it boring - it's basically math that most people see no practical outcomes for) or just strait up don't get it.
See, though, I don't think that's at all the case. Krugman isn't a dry writer at all, at least when it comes to his blog posts and political and economic commentary. To be sure, you find most of the more detail analyses on his blog (since the kind of posts he marks as "wonkish" would not be very popular in his column), but there's usually a lot of color to them and they're pretty accessible even to the layman. His blog (which leads you down a rabbit trail to other blogs written by all kinds of other economists) is what actually spurred my interest in economics. If anything, he gets in trouble for being too colorful.
I disagree with Krugman almost totally politically, but I find his blog worthwhile reading and it's just stunning to see how many people have no understanding whatsoever of what he says and believes. There's a whole cottage industry involved in setting up straw-krugmen and knocking them down.
It's because he writes like a Nobel award winning economist. Meaning a dry writing style, and advanced concepts.
Most people hated economics in school (either because they don't understand it, or found it boring - it's basically math that most people see no practical outcomes for) or just strait up don't get it.