, Columnist
Be Smart When You Compare Reagan's Economy to Obama's
Some partisans act as if we can run a controlled experiment to see which president's policies were better. We can't.
That was then.
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If I were teaching a college-level course on political economy, my midterm exam would ask students to spot the errors in an op-ed with the headline, "Do You Want Reagan’s Economy or Obama’s? "
Why? Because this particular article, by former Republican Senator Phil Gramm and Michael Solon, a GOP policy adviser, provides a perfect opportunity to show how partisan biases get in the way of clear analysis. And maybe, by showing the flaws in a poorly constructed argument, I can save you from making similar errors in your investment processes.