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To: tradermike_1999 who wrote (15489)	2/23/2002 12:49:25 PM
From: Terry Maloney	Respond to of 74559

mike, lol. That second dude's name is Maurice Flyer. <g>

To: tradermike_1999 who wrote (15489)	2/23/2002 2:10:50 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

I could not find any book written by Lawrence Lindsay anywhere. Are you sure about your facts?

To: tradermike_1999 who wrote (15489)	2/23/2002 3:14:02 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Respond to of 74559

Here's the antidote to Lawrence Lindsey Syndrome: Re: "Economic Puppetmasters" Bad Analysis that Still Deserves Attention, January 12, 2000 Reviewer: Robert Bagel from Chicago, USA This book certainly merits reading because Mr. Lindsey is the key figure for the economic policy of George W. Bush. Having thought that Mr. Lindsey's remarks as a Fed governor were insightful, I was enthusiastic about this book. I finished the book greatly disappointed in Mr. Lindsey's logic, and concerned that he could be a key figure in future U.S. economic policy. I found Economic Puppetmasters to be extremely unbalanced in presenting information, frequently lacking in factual basis for Mr. Lindsey's points, and at times even illogical. Even though Alan Greenspan is featured in the book and the power of the Fed is recognized, it is criminal that Mr. Greenspan's predecessor Paul Volcker is not mentioned in the book even once. A monetarist point of view would argue that it was Mr. Volcker's courageous policies that laid the groundwork for today's economic prosperity. Mr Lindsey claims it was Ronald Reagan's change of tax policy and firing air traffic controllers. When discussing the great depression, the Fed's inept monetary policy after the stock market crash of 1929 is completely ignored in favor of how Keynes' insights into the period justify his being an economic deity, even though Lindsey later says, " Keynes was the name associated with the failed policy of the 1970's" (p. 180). I hoped that Mr. Lindsey would address the fact that maybe Keynes' name is associated with the failed policies of the 1970's because Keynesian analysis is not correct. Instead, Democrats are blamed for not implementing policy correctly. It is interesting that similar to the omission of Fed Chairman Volcker from the book, Milton Friedman is mentioned just once, not in the context of economic analysis but in the form of a comic quote that jibes at bureaucrats (p.80). Economic Puppetmasters is also quite frustrating in that claims are made with little documentation or well-constructed reasoning. While a Shakespeare quote will be carefully footnoted, an assertion that grain prices fell because there were more cars and less horses is plugged into an argument without any data or footnote to back it up. I guess we just have to take Mr. Lindsey's word for it. The prime example of how Mr. Lindsey cannot keep his story straight (even through two paragraphs!) can be found on page 179. Mr. Lindsey begins by saying that in January 1980 consumer prices rose 1.4 per cent, and that this rate exceeded the average annual rate of most years in the 1950s and 1960s. If that pace continued inflation would be 18.2 per cent for the year. He goes on to state how President Carter asked people to stop use of their credit cards, and how GDP collapsed and unemployment was high. The next paragraph begins "With deflationary risks of that magnitude . . ." Yes Mr. Lindsey, falling GDP and rising unemployment are often associated with deflation, but you just argued that monthly inflation then was higher than most annual inflation of prior decades! Was it that Carter's policies were so effective that they took us from inflation to deflation risk in six months? I do not think you mean that, and I hope you do not think that your readers are so stupid that such inconsistencies will pass under the guise of economic insight. Yes, this book is worth the read because it gives insight into the thought processes of a former Fed governor, and someone who may have a major say in U.S. economic policy. The disturbing thing is: the book reads like a C grade undergraduate paper and one may be left more frightened than enlightened by Mr. Lindsey's words. amazon.com