Thread by @GeorgeSelgin

Unfortunately, the errors of the past, however persistent, don't absolve fiscal and monetary authorities from responsibility for avoiding, or trying to ovoid, serious errors in the opposite direction. Life would be easier if they did. But they don't. 1/n

https://twitter.com/karlbykarlsmith/status/1358127358998372352

It's particularly unwise, IMHO, to suggest that ANY positive stimulus, now matter how large, is worth trying because of past inflation undershooting. According to this logic, why not $5 trillion; or $10, or...whatever?

Of course, many politicians will wring their hands at the prospect of piling-on to any such gravy train. They like "doing more" for their constituents. The macro consequences of excessive stimulus aren't their problem. But for that very reason, someone has to look out for those.

So while I'm all for avoiding undershooting; and I understand and support making up for past NGDP level drops, I think economists have a duty to warn against excess stimulus when that seems likely. In that respect at least, I'm with @ojblanchard1 here, in spirit if not specifics.

Maybe he's wrong about how much is too much. But someone has to take the other part in debates in which it's all too tempting to be a "nice" perma-dove rather than a mean advocate of restraint. (Heck, I probably just lost a dozen followers just by saying so.)