Sunday, November 6, 2011

Unemployment and Romer


The chart above shows the unemployment situation and again compares it to what Romer predicted with and without the Stimulus on January 11, 2009. It is stuck in high and Romer said no mater what it would be dropping almost like a brick.

I often wonder how some "professional" is so wrong yet continues to tell us what to do. To paraphrase the McCarthy hearings, "Have you no shame!" But this indicates a much larger issue the general lack of reality in economics as a whole. Imagine what has happened to medicine in the past  fifty years, we have considerable more certainty. The Romans knew how to build bridges, they still are standing, that is engineering. But economics is a conundrum.

The above details her errors a bit differently, it shows a continual and growing bias of error. Why one wonders. Was it wishful thinking or are there fundamental flaws in the Keynes type analysis. It was the use of multipliers she had studied which she applied and they just did not work. Government spending has had no effect. They say it would have been worse but her "worse" is better than reality.

The above percent errors are especially telling. They are almost 50%. They are slowly getting there. Again one must ask why? The economists just will not. The left wing just wants to do more. Based upon what? You have no evidence.

I had thought I would have left this curve behind months ago, but it just festers now almost 3 years later. I had said it would not work then and well, it is tough being an engineer in a world of economists.

Or to quote Crystal Gayle:

Mad is the captain of Alpha Centauri
We must be out of our minds
Still we are shipmates bound for tomorrow
And everyone here's flying blind
Oh, we must believe in magic
We must believe in the guiding hand
If you believe in magic
You'll have the universe at your command