Could an Alien Invasion Really Save The U.S. Economy?

Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman says the spending required to repel a threat from space would stimulate the economy in ways Congress won't.

There's no shortage of ideas on how to help the faltering economy, but Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has come up with what has to be the oddest suggestion yet: Fake a looming invasion from outer space. In an interview with CNN, Krugman cited "a Twilight Zone episode in which scientists fake an alien threat in order to achieve world peace.

Well, this time... we'd need it in order to get some fiscal stimulus." According to Krugman's tossed-off theory, we'd need a massive buildup to counter the apparently looming invasion. "[If] inflation and budget deficits took secondary place to that, this slump would be over in 18 months." (Watch the video below). Valid hypothesis... or just plain silly?

Sounds daffy, but Krugman is right: "If this fear of an alien invasion prompted the government to spend, say, $1 trillion on telescopes and lasers," says Joe Weisenthal at Business Insider, that would improve the bottom lines of American businesses by $1 trillion, if nothing else. It would obviously be wiser to spend the money more usefully, by fixing clogged airports and crumbling bridges. "But that would take political will that we don't have."

This argument is based on a fallacy: Krugman's theory hinges on his "canard about how World War II dragged us out of the Great Depression," says Justin Raimondo at Antiwar. The trouble is, that theory has been "debunked by economists on both the right and the left." It wasn't war-time spending that sparked the postwar boom - it was the return to normalcy after years of privation and rationing, and the role our unscathed industries played in rebuilding the ruins overseas.

Wasting money won't save the economy: What Krugman neglects to mention, says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, is that under the scenario he envisions we'd be seizing a fortune from taxpayers and blowing it on a bunch of gadgets "which have a real value of zero," since the proposed "invasion" is a scam. Government spending like that "doesn't create economic growth; it takes money from actual production," and that's the last thing this economy needs.

Here's what Krugman said:

Reader Comments

LaFeria · 2011-08-16T21:39:39Z

spin.....

argh! my head hurts.......spinning around & around.......what an awful swill this world has become.

Ennio · 2011-08-16T21:46:45Z

Another quote from Krugman:

“Krugman: ‘Think about World War II, right? That was actually negative social product spending, and yet it brought us out. I mean, probably because you want to put these things together, if we say, “Look, we could use some inflation.” Ken and I are both saying that [Rogoff nods], which is, of course, anathema to a lot of people in Washington but is, in fact, what basic logic says. It’s very hard to get inflation in a depressed economy. But if you had a program of government spending plus an expansionary policy by the Fed, you could get that. So, if you think about using all of these things together, you could accomplish a great deal.’

So essentially, Krugman is subtly advocating war to help the US get out of its economic slump. Wow. Krugman. Who'dve thunk?!

Justin Raimondo's piece, linked above, gets into this a bit more. Bottom line is though, at the end of the day, Krugman is as bad as the rest of them - worse in fact because so many consider him the sane voice of progressives.

bengger · 2011-08-16T22:26:58Z

Well of course it would

They would be paying in gold for landing rights!

Haven't we been paying for this for a long time now already? Why would that stimulate it now? The black budget has paid this over many times already, we have built up an arsenal of advanced weapons to prevent them from coming and are now ready to use it.

Gee · 2011-08-16T22:57:27Z

Who knows,

maybe there might be an actual invasion in the future. O wait there already here, but nobody seems to notice!

l_e_cox · 2011-08-17T00:34:45Z

The writer never heard of Project Blue Beam?

This scenario has been hashed out in "the community" for some time now.

Interesting that Krugman has latched onto it. That gives me a different viewpoint on him.

We have known for years about the "Report from Iron Mountain." Many of us took this seriously, though its original publisher insists it was a spoof. In this book an alleged group of academics argues that modern society needs war to function properly.

Well, that IS what they argue, isn't it? So: Spoof or no spoof, it keeps happening. We keep finding more reasons to continue our high levels of defense spending.

Meanwhile, Sean David Morton has come up with a different slant (another spoof?). In this scenario, massive spending was deflected from several sources into a secret project to protect earth from REAL attacks from outer space. According to this scenario, the technology is in place and has been successfully used more than once.

So, whether Krugman really knows something because of his contacts, or whether he is just reacting to the "spoofs" that keep showing up on this subject, the apparent lameness of his argument lies only in its naivete. The facts seem to be that for about half a century now, huge quantities of capital and natural resources have been invested in programs to protect the earth - or a chosen part of its population - from off-world threats.

That something could happen to make this public policy might get "the economy" going, but would double the damage from the additional lies it would necessitate. What we need most on this planet right now is honesty!

System · 2011-08-17T13:39:49Z

Indeed. But think of "Independence day" becoming a reality. You know, people come together, classic human reaction when there's a common front...and we see how it goes. If we lose, well you know, God punished us. If we win, you know the joke : "United we fight, divided we eat.". Possible but not probable. There is a resource these guys desperately need though. Our ocean water.

Mr Meowgi · 2011-09-08T13:29:04Z

The new 9/11 they have been looking for

I have heard that "We need another 9/11" perhaps because at this point we are numb. With all the crap that has happened since 9/11 people have become numb...So perhaps we need a good ole fashion alien invasion to help us all get along and have yet another common enemy. America was founded on "Having a common enemy". This wouldn't surprise me at all.

David