It's tempting to write off economics as a field based on this sort of stuff, but I think that would be unfair to the economics profession. I don't want to get

It's tempting to write off economics as a field based on this sort of stuff, but I think that would be unfair to the economics profession. I don't want to get too into the politics here, but I follow the financial news, and it's hard not to notice how the economic analysis can often be very different based on political affiliations. This letter was published in the Wall St. Journal, and many of the signatories work for the Hoover Institution, AEI, etc. I don't like saying it because it sounds so partisan, but these groups tend to be very concerned about the deficit / inflation / easy money policies during Democratic administrations. During the same time period, the top economist at the Times was predicting low inflation and a slow recovery, and of course the federal reserve board itself had a different view which is why it took the actions it did. So did wall street / the markets, which did not have high inflation expectations priced in. How economics is reported in the media is some combination of academic economics / politics / the media, and I'm not sure academic economics is really the biggest issue in that group. I think it's worth listening to what economists think, but it's important to look at their track record to be aware the media may be reporting a minority opinion in the field based on their political leanings.