by Peter Schiff
This week, while economists should have been closely considering the implications of the actual bankruptcy of Stockton, California, they instead heaped scorn on the perceived ideological bankruptcy of David Stockman. In other words, Stockman trumped Stockton.
Ronald Reagan’s former Budget Director contributed “Sundown in America” a multi-page opinion piece to the Sunday New York Times which loudly and eloquently described the illusions of our current economic system. While I don’t agree with everything Stockman believes, I think he is showing great wisdom and courage in making dire predictions and calling for extreme changes in our policy and politics.
What was perhaps more surprising than the Times’ uncharacteristic decision to run the piece in the first place was the vitriolic and largely ad hominem backlash against Stockman that quickly emerged from across the political spectrum. The attacks have focused primarily on his history and personality, and not on his arguments. One would be hard pressed to find any journalistic reaction that did not use the words “screed” “rant” or “unhinged.” I believe these responses reveal an acute sensitivity from mainstream economists that arises from defending contorted Keynesian logic.
It can’t be easy to take the position that debt doesn’t matter and that spending creates economic growth. To do so with any hope of success requires team unity, and Stockman has never really been a team player. His reputation as an apostate and a naysayer has made him an easy target.
Famously, Stockman left the Reagan White House in protest over the Gipper’s half-finished mandate. Yes, Reagan had cut taxes, but he never really cut spending. Stockman never bought into the easy idea, championed by Jack Kemp and Dick Cheney, that deficits don’t matter and that tax cuts pay for themselves. And although the Reagan revolution did clear the way for a return to better growth in the 80’s and 90’s, Stockman knew that the piper would call someday to collect the debt. Despite his foresight on that topic, his criticism of the Reagan legacy has earned him the derision of the Republican establishment for whom that particular hero worship is sacred.
This may have informed the attack issued by neo-conservative apologist and Iraq war cheerleader, David Frum, who offered a solely psychological assessment: “Stockman provides an insight into the gloomy mindset that overtakes us in older age, it’s a valuable warning to those of still middle-aged that once we lose our faith in the future, it’s time to stop talking about politics in public.” So much for respecting our elders.
Read the whole thing (and, of course, get Stockman’s book).