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Robert Reich is a politico with a political agenda, and that article is in a US politics opinion section. Inflation is a major US electoral issue, and the Biden

Robert Reich is a politico with a political agenda, and that article is in a US politics opinion section. Inflation is a major US electoral issue, and the Biden admin has tried to shift blame to greedy companies (not that it's necessarily fair to put the blame on the Biden admin, that's another issue altogether). And even if he were an economist (which he's not, despite the PPE degree), economists can be political hacks just like anyone else (Paul Krugman comes to mind).

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
I didn't ask what he was. I asked if he understood supply and demand. As for what he actually is: a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley and a former 1-term secretary of labor. He was appointed to the latter position, not elected. Almost anyone with an interest in the world has their own "political agenda".
- econ101time 4y ago
  I'll spell it out more clearly for you, since you didn't seem to understand the implicit point: I sure hope a fellow like him understands supply and demand. I assume he does. But I think that understanding takes second seat to trying to convince people that greedy companies, not incompetent governments, are to blame for inflation. And he writes that (putting aside whether he also thinks it's true) in order to advanced a political agenda. That's why it's in a US politics op-ed section of a left-wing newspaper.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
    I don't care what his political agenda is, I care what the actual source of inflation is. I see a lot more evidence that a lot more of it is due to price gouging by corporations than the money supply or supply chain issues. I don't care where he writes it either. It's not as if the WSJ is going to publish an argument like this. So maybe we can get away from "I hope <X> understands supply and demand" and actually tackle the evidence that has been presented by many economists and economic pundits regarding the relative contributors to the current inflation.

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago

I didn't ask what he was. I asked if he understood supply and demand. As for what he actually is: a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley and a former 1-term secretary of labor. He was appointed to the latter position, not elected. Almost anyone with an interest in the world has their own "political agenda".

econ101time 4y ago
I'll spell it out more clearly for you, since you didn't seem to understand the implicit point: I sure hope a fellow like him understands supply and demand. I assume he does. But I think that understanding takes second seat to trying to convince people that greedy companies, not incompetent governments, are to blame for inflation. And he writes that (putting aside whether he also thinks it's true) in order to advanced a political agenda. That's why it's in a US politics op-ed section of a left-wing newspaper.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  I don't care what his political agenda is, I care what the actual source of inflation is. I see a lot more evidence that a lot more of it is due to price gouging by corporations than the money supply or supply chain issues. I don't care where he writes it either. It's not as if the WSJ is going to publish an argument like this. So maybe we can get away from "I hope <X> understands supply and demand" and actually tackle the evidence that has been presented by many economists and economic pundits regarding the relative contributors to the current inflation.