I'm giving "New Ideas from Dead Economists" three stars. A former economic advisor to George H W Bush, Buchholz clearly has a conservative bias...but then all or at least most economists have a viewpoint that falls somewhere along the conservative/liberal continuum. With this caveat in mind, Buchholz gives us a useful outline of the basic ideas associated with major economists from Adam Smith to John Muth and the Rational Expectations school of economic thought (although I'm not sure where the "New" part of his title come in).
Buchholz offers a useful critique of John Maynard Keynes which concedes that, while Keynes' ideas are correct in their theoretical aspect, they are flawed in their political aspect. Specifically, while most people say they oppose debt, in reality they will fight to keep deficit spending that benefits them--which may be ok on the down side of the business cycle when deficit spending is needed to stimulate the economy, but very bad on the up side when we need to run surpluses to pay down debt run up during the down side. Problem is, as soon as a booming economy threatens to produce a surplus there is popular pressure to cut taxes rather than pay down debt, further stimulating an already overheated economy and leading to the next bust. But if only the stimulus part of Keynes' theory is politically doable, then the long term result will be unmanageable debt such as we now see in Greece.
A more fundamental argument I have with Buchholz is his advocacy of investing Social Security Trust Fund money in private markets. Many conservatives advocate this, which I find ironic, since direct government investment into the private sector (thereby making it less "private") is what otherwise is known as socialism. Ideology aside, given the enormous leverage government bureaucrats would then have to manipulate the market, direct government investment in private markets would provide frightening temptations for corruption. That is why the original Social Security Act dictated that Social Security surpluses be invested in government bonds, which are perfectly good and conservative investment vehicles that are held by individuals, banks, insurance companies and governments around the world. There is also the problem that government bonds not purchased by the Social Security Trust Fund would be sold instead on the open market (since we still need to finance our deficit)--meaning that instead of owing a portion of our debt to our own future retirees, more of that debt would be owed to those same banks, insurance companies and wealthy individuals, many of them foreign.
In summation, "New Ideas from Dead Economists" is informative and a book well worth reading as long as one keeps in mind that Buchholz writes from a particular viewpoint.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club?
Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Flip to back
Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
-
Apple
-
Android
-
Windows Phone
-
Android
To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2012
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Gary D.
Ok. Expected more.
Reviewed in Canada on April 27, 2020Verified Purchase
dumbo
vraiment remarquable
Reviewed in France on July 6, 2010Verified Purchase
wontonwoo
経済学の潮流を分かり易く
Reviewed in Japan on May 18, 2008Verified Purchase
Deals related to this item
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
