<Drumbeat: April 10, 2009 The Oil Drum Drumbeat: April 11, 2009>

156 comments on Steven Chu at the 2009 EIA Energy Conference

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Gail the Actuary on April 10, 2009 - 3:34pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

It is even more sad that these are the people the EIA (and apparently the Obama administration) consider important to put in front of all the attendees at the opening plenary session.

Nordhaus went on to explain a lot of other things--how little oil imports were compared to our total imports; how comparative advantage made it important that we import all this oil; and how the audience was just not properly trained in economics. If we were, we would understand that people talking about our dependence on foreign oil are just mistaken.

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geek7 on April 12, 2009 - 12:46am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I think, on the other hand, that if we were all properly trained in economics, particularly the prize winning economics of recent decades, we would all be dealing in risk management and derivatives. Wouldn't that be a wonderful world! Economics is the most sleazy of the sciences by far. But people with money seem to believe in it, mainly because economists really suck up to people with money, I think.

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step back on April 12, 2009 - 7:01am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Economics is the most sleazy of the sciences

Don't get me wrong. There are parts of economics that I consider to be a valid study of system behavior. Then there are other parts that I consider to be total propaganda and brain cleansing (of a kind far more effective than your everyday colon cleanse).

Consider how some economists talk about "subprime mortgages" being the cause of our current economic woes.

No, you idiots! The piece of paper (a.k.a. legal contract) called the "mortgage" does not pay the monthly rent to the bank. It is the poor unemployed schnook who lives in the house who pays the rent.

But he can't pay the rent because he is unemployed. And he is unemployed because you morons off-shored his job --all in the name of "economic efficiencies".

So dear economists; the real cause of the crisis lies not in the "subprime mortgages" or in our stars, but rather in the maroon who stares back at you from the mirror every morning.
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/end ad hominem attack on economists (that is if they qualify as species hominem, wink, wink)

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156 comments on Steven Chu at the 2009 EIA Energy Conference

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