Yesterday, a very famous economist from Switzerland made some cutting comments about Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.  Being educated in Europe, it is not surprising that he belongs to the Austrian or “Tough Love” school of economics.  Like all economists, he was judgmental and intellectually intolerant, as well as bombastic.

For the record, my thought is that Bernanke did a great job keeping the U.S. out of a depression.  He is innovative, pragmatic, and well-intentioned.

When the famous Swiss economist was asked what he would do if he was Bernanke, he responded flippantly that he would resign.  Later, he admitted he would have let the banks fail and the U.S. financial system freeze.  The Austrian view is that a quick depression is better in the long run than a long, slow-speed recession.

Yet, it reminded me of the George Allen fundraiser I attended recently, where a different candidate was asked how he would fix a particularly difficult problem and responded he would simply get rid of Obama.  When pressed what he would do after he got rid of Obama, he said he would appoint Republican policy-makers.  Otherwise, he had no ideas.

I understand why it is necessary to pick a fight sometimes in order to get attention or sell books, but at some point, it certainly becomes a tedious time-waster.  My mother always told me “if you can’t say something nice about somebody else, then shut your mouth!”  That’s good if quaint advice for politicians and economists.