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> I just try my best to listen. > There are economists like Steve Keen and Joseph Stiglitz who seem to make sense to me, and then there seems to be a lot of go

> I just try my best to listen. > There are economists like Steve Keen and Joseph Stiglitz who seem to make sense to me, and then there seems to be a lot of gobblygook. Seems at odds. Even further when you say: > Often times they seem to have just read the papers that justify something they already believe in. Economics in particular is not a science and extremely dangerous one to have "opinions" about, since I feel like it's got a heavy ideological bent forced unto it due to political considerations. > HN is particularly arrogant about some subjects, because it seems like having read a few papers, some people think they know more than experts in the field. Apt. Just wish it would apply to you and not everyone else.

kranke155 3y ago
I am quoting experts in the field, and using their own presentations on the subject. I am not an expert in economics, just an interested reader. It is entirely possible I am also falling victim to the same trap, that's not something I would ever deny. But repeating what you heard from an economist in a mainstream publication just leads to mostly repeating falsehoods, since economists who get heard in the mainstream media seem to me to be often ideological.
- imtringued 3y ago
  There is a guy on YouTube who studied economics and he became a trader on Wallstreet. His opinion is basically that the most realistic career option of an Economist is to work at a central bank or at an investment firm. The ones who work at the central bank can't criticise their employer. There was this Economist Richard Werner who has shown that the causality is from growth to interest. I.e. higher growth leads to higher interest. The problem is that this is at odds with the theory of the central bank lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy. It means that this policy tool is kind of meaningless. The Fed is just following the market. You can't publish this as an economist since it is basically saying "We are incompetent and we don't know what we are doing."
  - kranke155 3y ago
    Steve Keen is another fascinating example. He has a whole episode on Lex Fridman where he basically lays out the follies of neoclassical economics, lays out how banks print money and that's not being accounted for, his system thinking for the whole thing. It was the first time I followed an economist from 0 to 100 and it all made sense. Yet he's considered an outlier, but he is also considered to be one of the few people who correctly predicted the 2008 crash.

kranke155 3y ago

I am quoting experts in the field, and using their own presentations on the subject. I am not an expert in economics, just an interested reader. It is entirely possible I am also falling victim to the same trap, that's not something I would ever deny. But repeating what you heard from an economist in a mainstream publication just leads to mostly repeating falsehoods, since economists who get heard in the mainstream media seem to me to be often ideological.

imtringued 3y ago
There is a guy on YouTube who studied economics and he became a trader on Wallstreet. His opinion is basically that the most realistic career option of an Economist is to work at a central bank or at an investment firm. The ones who work at the central bank can't criticise their employer. There was this Economist Richard Werner who has shown that the causality is from growth to interest. I.e. higher growth leads to higher interest. The problem is that this is at odds with the theory of the central bank lowering interest rates to stimulate the economy. It means that this policy tool is kind of meaningless. The Fed is just following the market. You can't publish this as an economist since it is basically saying "We are incompetent and we don't know what we are doing."
- kranke155 3y ago
  Steve Keen is another fascinating example. He has a whole episode on Lex Fridman where he basically lays out the follies of neoclassical economics, lays out how banks print money and that's not being accounted for, his system thinking for the whole thing. It was the first time I followed an economist from 0 to 100 and it all made sense. Yet he's considered an outlier, but he is also considered to be one of the few people who correctly predicted the 2008 crash.