TIP OF THE HAT

TO CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL, AND DR. PAUL KRUGMAN who debated on Bloomberg TV on Monday night. 

I like both of these guys, and will usually go out of my way to watch them when they're on the air. 

Ron Paul is a hard-nosed Libertarian Conservative. He's cheerful and uncorruptible. He believes that debt is the major culprit in our economy. With massive debt, the Federal Reserve has an incentive to inflate the currency by printing more money (pay debts back with cheaper dollars … ha ha ha, creditors!) which is stealing purchasing power from people who hold our bonds or our dollars. His solution: end the Fed. 

Dr. Krugman believes in free markets, but not necessarily as a manifestation of Divine Will. He recognizes the fear and greed cycle which causes markets to periodically run amuck. The Fed is the proper mechanism to add liquidity (money) when businesses are cautious or fearful, and drain liquidity when the business climate is over-exuberant or inflationary. 

The discussion, by itself, would probably not be must-see TV for everybody. For me, I've had a warm spot in my heart for Ron Paul ever since he looked Rick Santorum in the eye and called him "a fake" during one of the GOP debates. Paul Krugman is always fascinating to watch in a debate for the simple reason that he has a perpetually bemused expression on his face and almost never blinks. 

You don't want to argue or play poker with a guy like that.