Paul Krugman’s Google+ Account is Fake, I Know because I Created It

Approximately a month ago, having been laid off and having too much time on my hands, I finally decided to create my own personal account on Google+. I found it to be extremely boring, mostly because no one I knew had an account and my needs for instant news had long been satisfied by twitter. To kill some time and fully delve into what Google+ had to offer, I decided to create a gimmick account of Paul Krugman and see what happened.

Last night, I made this post which caused quite a stir on twitter and blogosphere.

People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.

I do not regret writing it and I hope it will enlighten many on the perverse economic views held by a Nobel winning economist writing for the New York Times who also lectures at Princeton University. While Paul Krugman did not write the above statement, he has made similar statements within the year and I would not be surprised if Paul Krugman did not in fact hold this view.

On March 15, 2011 Paul Krugman wrote this on his blog.

And yes, this does mean that the nuclear catastrophe could end up being expansionary, if not for Japan then at least for the world as a whole. If this sounds crazy, well, liquidity-trap economics is like that — remember, World War II ended the Great Depression.

Three days after the 9/11 tragedy Paul Krugman had this to say.

Nonetheless, we must ask about the economic aftershocks from Tuesday’s horror.These aftershocks need not be major. Ghastly as it may seem to say this, the terror attack — like the original day of infamy, which brought an end to the Great Depression — could even do some economic good.

If you showed any disgust at my fake comment written on Google+, I expect you would show equal antipathy for the two quotes above. For too long now, Krugman along with other Keynesian economists such as Nouriel Roubini have supported Keynesian policies which advocate for more taxation of the job creating private sector to contribute to the job destroying public sector. While he public sector has “created” jobs, one must remember and take into account the opportunity cost of taxing the private sector.

I am not ashamed of what I have said in Paul Krugman’s name on Google+. It is but an example of the many misguided beliefs that Paul Krugman holds, defends, and espouses on a daily basis. It is a shame that based on Paul Krugman’s reputation, I can write a statement about the East Coast earthquake as I did above and many of Krugman’s supporters would defend it and share it with others.

Below are two screenshots of access only I possess of the Paul Krugman’s Google+ account. It was fun while it lasted, but even pretending to be Paul Krugman has become too much for me to bear. My name is Carlos R. Graterol. I studied Economics and Political Science at Florida State University and graduated in Spring 2010, Go Noles!