PRIZED REMARKS
Author:
Date: Friday, October 29, 1982
Page: ?????
Section: EDITORIAL PAGE
If they give out a Nobel Prize for candor, University of Chicago economist
George Stigler may become the first person to win Nobels in two successive
years.
Stigler was honored at the White House Wednesday for receiving the Nobel
Prize in economics this year. In a briefing with reporters following a
conversation with President Reagan, Stigler called the current economic
situation "depression," characterized supply-side economics as a "gimmick" and
suggested that, if compelled to grade the President on the economy, he would
award an "incomplete."
Those were not words the White House wanted to hear a week before a
national election in which the overriding issue is the President's performance
on the economy. One report suggested that Stigler was literally led from the
press briefing room by disquieted White House aides.
Aside from his nomenclature, Stigler made at least one substantive point
that cannot be ignored. All the cheering about the decline in inflation -
cheering which the President enthusiastically leads - ignores the terrible
cost in unemployment expended to achieve the result.
A more gradual reduction in inflation would, on balance, have been less
painful and preferable, Stigler suggested. Further, he noted, capital
investment in the economy is lagging badly, suggesting that the economy is not
yet on the future of full health. The remarks were candid and perceptive -
just what one might expect from a Nobel Prize winner.
Stigler said at one point that he liked Washington just fine and, in fact,
went there every third year or so. More frequent appearances by Stigler and
others qualified and willing to speak the plain truth would be welcome.
SCHARF;10/28,11:56 LDRISC;10/29,10 B07793219
|
