PAUL KRUGMAN’S SILLY KEYNESIAN DESPERATION
What do you do if the facts don't support your beliefs? If you are honest, you will rethink what you previously believed. If you are a Keynesian economist, though, like New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, you make silly assertions.
In his Jan. 31 column, Mr. Krugman said he wants to see "some example, somewhere, of austerity policies that succeeded."
If you are a Keynesian school economist like Mr. Krugman, you define "austerity" as a reduction in government spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). If you are a classical Austrian school economist, you view a reduction of government spending not as austerity, but a growth-enhancing policy.
Mr. Krugman seems to have forgotten that the government share of GDP dropped after Reagan was able to get most of his policies through the Democrat-controlled Congress (which Mr. Krugman would define as austerity). The economy boomed and employment soared. Likewise, when government spending was reduced as a share of GDP during the Clinton administration and the Republican Congress, the economy and employment boomed.

