This Week in Economics

After spewing alarmist rhetoric re: the dire state of the economy in an effort to usurp the crown, the Liberals are now criticizing Stephen Harper for his new-found pessimism. Rather hypocritical, but hey! it's the Liberal Party of Canada. What did you expect?

For his part, Harper seems to have surrendered to his political opponents by reversing his previously restrained stance on fiscal stimulus.

Jim Flaherty is also adopting a more concerned attitude (at least publicly). He has recruited an ad hoc "council of economic advisers" to provide input for the new federal budget. The council's members, chosen without much regard to party allegiance, have an impressive combined collection of business experience and acumen. But of the 11 councilors, only one, Dr. Jack Mintz of the C.D. Howe Institute, is an economist. The business community certainly has a lot to offer, but an economic council ought to have economists. President-elect Barack Obama understands this. He has recruited heavily from the ranks of the academic economists. The most notable appointments are Christina Romer of UC Berkeley as the new chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and Lawernce Summers of Harvard as the new director of the National Economic Council.