Krugman has access to the same data as everybody else. Why can’t he get it right?

He claims the economic results have been disappointing. Really? 4.2% and 3.5% the past two quarters. That’s disappointing?

He claims growth has been largely driven by consumer spending (v biz). No shit Paul. The consumer is 70% of GDP. Business is less than 20%. The consumer has been the workhorse this year w/r/t GDP growth.

He claims there is no sign of a vast investment boom. Really? Q1 was the biggest CAPEX first quarter ever, and 2018 is on pace to be the second biggest CAPEX year ever.

He thinks business decisions are less sensitive to financial incentives, including tax rates. I suppose that’s why US corporations had $3T in offshore held profits heading into 2018.

He argues companies are buying back stock rather than hiring people. Really? 250,000 new jobs were added in October, a pretty remarkable number for being this late in the cycle. Krugman may also want to know that JOLTS is north of seven million (a record high), and openings outpace people looking for employment for the first time ever. This is another reason for increased CAPEX.

I agree that the GOP got less than they should have out of a strong economy. Krugman should have written a one paragraph article and passed on showing us how confused he is, similar to when he argued that the performance of the private part of Bush’s SS proposal put the value of the non-private part at financial risk.
[Post edited by Stimp at 11/17/2018 1:02PM]