The Dumbbell Prize for Economics: Were They Serious? 

I thought it was a joke. I thought my colleague was kidding me. I opened the morning newspaper. It was true!

Ben Bernanke had won the Nobel Prize for Economics!

This was the same guy that almost single-handedly initiated the ridiculously stupid government bailout of Wall Street after the 2008 stock market meltdown. This was the same guy that got on national TV on a Friday and said that unless Congress passed the bailout bill immediately, America would likely not have an economy left by Monday.

He was also the guy who, prior to that, had been saying the reported problems with sub-prime lending were nothing to worry about. He was the person that came up with the shibboleth of Quantitative Easing. And he was a mentor for Janet Yellen and James Powell who continued with the same foolish policies.

And he was the man who had the unmitigated gall to write and publish a book about his recklessness called The Courage to Act.

For some conversations about all of this, click here and here and here.