You’d think they’d get tired of this sort of thing.
Dave was very kind to mention my book.1
1I’m sure he would have mentioned the index if there were more time.
This is officially an award-winning blog
Best group blog: "Witty and insightful, the Edge of the American West puts the group in group blog, with frequent contributions from an irreverent band.... Always entertaining, often enlightening, the blog features snazzy visuals—graphs, photos, videos—and zippy writing...."
31 comments
October 17, 2008 at 8:11 pm
ari
Um, you can’t buy the book from that link. That’s very poor marketing indeed.
October 17, 2008 at 8:19 pm
dana
Holy crap, dude. You’re like the Just-Add-Goggles Dr. Horrible. Wooo!
October 17, 2008 at 8:39 pm
urbino
I notice the name of this station is KCRA. I think we know where their sympathies lie.
BTW, did I mention last time that you don’t sound anything like you? Also that your mannerisms are very un-Rauchwegian?
October 17, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Levi Stahl
Well done, Eric.
I think that’s the first time I’ve watched local news in about five years (aside from the night before the first big snowfall each winter, when it’s always worth watching to see the borderline panic they try to generate) . . . and it’s not even my own local news. This Internet thing is amazing!
October 17, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Sir Charles
Holy shit! — that may be the most substantive news segment I’ve seen by any commerical newscast in these United States in forever.
Well done sir.
October 17, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Colin
I thought you were funnier.
October 17, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Josh
Awesome. You seemed less tranquilized than last time, too.
I still find it odd that they chose to have you do a standup in the newsroom.
October 17, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Brad
Wow, they even plugged the book.
I am flabbergasted at a local news program bringing on a professor to talk about important issues. Growing up, the sole purpose of local news was murders and fires, followed by football and the weather.
October 17, 2008 at 10:19 pm
bitchphd
I bet Eric *asked* to stand up, in order to not wrinkle his suit.
October 17, 2008 at 10:35 pm
grackle
It’s that nice starched shirt. He can’t sit down.
October 18, 2008 at 6:56 am
yagwara
Seconding other commenters:
Holy crap, that was on a local news program?
In America??
The interviewers invited an intelligent, informed person for comment, and they asked intelligent, informed questions. What the hell?
Please tell me that the next segment was about a water-skiing squirrel. Otherwise I am going to prepare to move to California.
October 18, 2008 at 8:40 am
Ahistoricality
That was a surprisingly calm and positive take on the situation….
October 18, 2008 at 8:48 am
JPool
But first, more doofus.
“Goofus,” the word you’re looking for is “goofus.”
(It’s too late for me to apply for that Davis job, right? Right.)
October 18, 2008 at 8:49 am
JPool
But seriously, nice job.
October 18, 2008 at 9:20 am
drip
the sole purpose of local news was murders and fires, followed by football and the weather. This was under the “fire” category. And well done by all. Especially the standing. Really.
October 18, 2008 at 10:45 am
Neddy Merrill
He makes me feel so small, so inadequate, so sloppily dressed. News anchors want him, bloggers want to be him. Sweet sweetness, dude.
October 18, 2008 at 10:55 am
Larry Cebula
Are you getting enough fiber?
October 18, 2008 at 1:13 pm
urbino
Yes. All kidding aside, nice job, eric.
October 18, 2008 at 1:48 pm
SomeCallMeTim
I refused to watch the thing until we get more water shirt.
October 18, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Martin G.
While I can only second Tim’s call for more water shirt, I was wondering if you could elaborate on something – if possible, while wearing the water shirt. I’ve heard several seemingly intelligent people argue that the war in Iraq was somehow part of the problem going into the crisis. I feel stupid for asking this, but it has not been made clear to me why or why not this is true. You seemed to say that you don’t think it’s relevant. Why not?
October 18, 2008 at 2:10 pm
SEK
He makes me feel so small, so inadequate, so sloppily dressed.
On the way from the airport to Davis, one of Goofus’s grad students told me he makes everyone feel this way.
On purpose.
October 18, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Colin
I can’t do water shirt, Martin, but you can start with Stiglitz
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030702846_pf.html
There’s the direct harm the war does, the budgetary impact and attendant macro imbalances that made the crisis worse, and the fact that our ability to do fiscal stimulus when we desperately need it has been reduced.
October 18, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Martin G.
Thanks, Colin! – I did actually read that article. But that was earlier in the year. How is the war affecting the development of the crisis now? Goofus seems to say it’s unsure.
October 18, 2008 at 3:41 pm
eric
Thanks to everyone with kind remarks.
Martin, as I understand it, the argument is that the war has limited our ability to respond—it’s left us less room for stimulating tax cuts or public investments.
I suppose there’s some sense in which this is necessarily true, though of course as I understand Keynes, spending when there is no room is just fine in a downturn.
To the extent that the Iraq War may have damaged our ability as a nation to borrow, it’s a problem, but I’ve seen no evidence of that.
Meanwhile, all of these problems are problems that limit our ability to respond to the crisis; they do not cause the crisis itself—which I think mostly people understand to have been caused by the long era of very low interest rates –> housing bubble –> new housing-related investment vehicles, desirable because of low interest rates + made allegedly worthwhile because of rising housing prices.
More or less. Standard caveats apply: I am not an economist, and I am not a historian of the recent past, either.
See.
October 18, 2008 at 3:49 pm
eric
Also, Nobel* laureate Paul Krugman.
*Yes, whatever.
October 18, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Walt
Somebody asked me for a recommendation for a book to read about banking crises. I automatically recommended Eric’s book, despite never having read it. Now that’s marketing muscle.
I don’t see any plausible way in which the Iraq War is connected to the current crisis, except in the sense that everything is connected, as explained by Vanessa Williams in “The Colors of the Wind”.
October 18, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Matt Weiner
The suppression of the punctuation in that last URL is unfortunate.
October 19, 2008 at 2:03 am
Martin G.
Allright – I understand more now. Thanks for the help!
“Everything is connected to everything”, btw, is a famous quote by former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
October 19, 2008 at 2:36 pm
bitchphd
Thanks to everyone with kind remarks.
Touche.
October 20, 2008 at 7:12 am
dware
Wow. Cogent commentary, historical perspective, author of peer-reviewed work…all on one screen?
BUT–must have been an impostor. No frayed blue button-down oxford cloth, no beat-to-heck Harris tweed.
October 20, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Timothy Burke
Why…so…serious?
Great job, really. And really, like everyone else, I’m kind of amazed at the news people–not only for getting you on, but asking pertinent questions and going into relevant details.