02 November 2010

More Clueless Critique

Over at ThinkProgess Matthew Yglesias builds on Ryan Avent's mischaracterization of the arguments in The Climate Fix, which Yglesias obviously hasn't read either.  Yglesias writes:
It seems to me that when policies focused on economic growth confront policies focused on other things people care about the “other things” win all the time. We have national parks, we give seniors Medicare instead of turning them into soylent green, we have insane cotton subsidies, you need a license to become a barber, we underinvest in early childhood education, the tax code is a joke, etc.

Indeed, there are a lot of policies that would boost growth and cut emissions (less regulatory curtailment of dense construction, congestion pricing on roads, etc.) and yet “other things” win out over those options regularly.
Wow, boosting growth and cutting emissions.  A great idea. It would be a great critique if it wasn't actually the centerpiece of my book.  I am used to blog misrepresentation.  Don't these guys realize that it is they who look careless and uninformed (at best) for attributing views to me that I don't have?  Isn't this tactic getting tiresome?

Useful advice for bloggers: Avoid looking the fool by reading the book before criticizing.