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Donald Luskin is the Chief Investment Officer for Trend Macrolytics LLC, an investment consulting firm. He also writes a blog, The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid, which is the title of the book he is currently working on. He has written two other books, Index Options and Futures: The Complete Guide and Portfolio Insurance: A Guide to Dynamic Hedging. His self-written biography says that he attended Yale from 1973-1974, but "Dropped out to join the real world as soon as possible."
Critics, especially Berkeley economics professor Brad DeLong, argue that Luskin knows very little about economics and makes frequent errors. DeLong, for example, publishes an "Intellectual Garbage Pickup" every quarter with errors he claims to have found in Luskin's work. DeLong has recently taken to calling Luskin "The Stupidest Man Alive". [1] (http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2005-3_archives/000216.html)
The blog
His blog, The Conspiracy to Keep You Poor and Stupid, is named after the book on which he is currently working, of the same title. In it, he explains how "Big Government, Big Business, and Big Media, and Big Academia Block your Road to Financial Freedom, and Tell You it's for Your Own Good."
Much of the blog is spent detailing and explaining how economic facts, figures, and trends are distorted by the Politicians, Pundits, and the Media. He has a particular animosity towards the New York Times, especially columnist Paul Krugman, and public editor Daniel Okrent. Luskin calls himself a member of the 'Krugman Truth Squad,' which is dedicated to detailing and rebutting what he considers the lies and distortions of Krugman.
In 2003, Krugman accused Luskin of personally stalking him. Luskin defended himself against the charge here (http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_luskin/luskin200310201054.asp). The issue about how literally Krugman had been stalked by Luskin became controversial New Yorker interviews with both men on the issue (http://newyorker.com/printable/?talk/031117ta_talk_mcgrath).
In addition to on his blog, Luskin's writings can occasionally be found at National Review Online.
Quotes
- "Join us as we discover, document, expose and challenge the bad people, the bad institutions and the bad ideas that stand in the way of wealth creation -- and show you how to fight back!" -- description of his weblog
- "Fig-leaf Dan -- available in one handy stretch-to-fit size." -- An insult to Daniel Okrent, public editor of the New York Times. Luskin believes Okrent does a poor job of hiding a liberal bias present in the New York Times.
- "The emperor has no clothes, and I intend to keep calling him naked." -- On the merits of insulting Paul Krugman.
External links
- Brad DeLong comments on Luskin (http://www.google.com/custom?q=%22donald+luskin%22&sa=Google+Search&cof=LW%3A800%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.j-bradford-delong.net%2FGraphics%2Fdelong_google.gif%3BLH%3A300%3BAH%3Acenter%3BGL%3A0%3BAWFID%3A8c43e3740317d1a1%3B&domains=www.j-bradford-delong.net&sitesearch=www.j-bradford-delong.net)
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