Why Didn't Ronald Reagan Consult Paul Krugman Before Destroying the Economy?

The other day professional grump Paul Krugman posted a new version of an old economics meme on his blog, the New York Times. His thesis: Ronald Reagan, aka The Greatest President Ever, actually caused our current econopocalypse:

There’s plenty of blame to go around these days. But the prime villains behind the mess we’re in were Reagan and his circle of advisers — men who forgot the lessons of America’s last great financial crisis, and condemned the rest of us to repeat it.

Now, of course, this outrageous blasphemy is drawing fire from the patriots at the National Review…

[Krugman's] argument hangs on an obscure piece of legislation called the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act. In Krugman's imagination, this bill is the key to understanding "the mess we're in."

As he usually does when he is shading the truth, Krugman argues via assertion and the repetition of assertion ("the bill turned the modest-sized troubles of savings-and-loan institutions into an utter catastrophe" … "The immediate effect of Garn-St. Germain, as I said, was to turn the thrifts from a problem into a catastrophe," etc.). He throws out lines that beg for substantiation and follows them with non-sequitors.

In other words, "boo." (Also, Paul Krugman gets a D for composition.)

Literary quibbles aside, Krugman shows no sign of backing away from his argument that President Reagan and his villainous economic advisers wilfully destroyed the American economy because, whatever, it was the '80s and everyone was high. Grody to the max! If only Paul Krugman could travel back in time, to 1982, and set Reagan straight with some real economic advice.

Oh yes, that's right. He already did.