There really ought to be a pithy expression that simultaneously conveys the ideas of 'a breath of fresh air' and 'sanity'. This is a pretty good summary of how

There really ought to be a pithy expression that simultaneously conveys the ideas of 'a breath of fresh air' and 'sanity'. This is a pretty good summary of how most economists working in the public service tend to view the world too (at least in my experience). It's unfortunate that public discussion of economic issues has become so politicised and disconnected from reality. We seem to have reached the point where many believe the word 'economist' is a synonym for 'libertarian demagogue'. Either that or economists are thought to be 'those guys that trade shares for a living'. However, it does seem like there's an awful lot of these libertarian 'economists' running around the internet nowadays...