by David Safier
Paul Krugman writes this morning about Ireland's recent riches-to-rags story. Not too long ago, Ireland was a shining star in the European financial world. Now, not so much. Krugman is worried we could go down the same road.
Here's the passage that jumped out at me:
Like its near-namesake Iceland, Ireland jumped with both feet into the brave new world of unsupervised global markets. Last year the Heritage Foundation declared Ireland the third freest economy in the world, behind only Hong Kong and Singapore.
Freedom from regulation. It can be a great ride, for some, as long as it lasts.
As much as I respect and listen to Krugman, I hope he's wrong that Obama is taking the wrong road toward economic recovery. I've read lots of debate among progressive economists, and I'm not knowledgeable enough to know whose analysis to believe. Unfortunately, it's hard to discount Krugman.