I put this book on my 22 books to read in 2022 list, and I ended up very glad for the deadline. I am never in the MOOD to read a nine million page book on economics, but it was a much easier read than I had imagined, and I am very glad to have read it.

Most of these essays were originally published as newspaper columns, which is, as always, a mixed blessing. On the plus side, each essay is concise and self-contained, making it east to digest them chapter by chapter or individual essay at a time. On the negative side, they are each self-contained, and I was sometimes left wanting more context, deeper analysis, or greater connection between essays.

I hope it will be handy to keep this on the shelves as a reference. ( )

Several times a year, I pick up a book about economics, thinking I should become more informed about our Country's economic policies, the financial decisions being made by our government leaders, whether tax breaks or raising taxes on the rich is a good or bad idea, whether deficit spending is a necessary evil during periods of economic downturns or not, etc. Then, shortly after beginning books such as these, I quickly remember how much I hate books on these subjects. Which explains why I didn't manage to finish Krugman's recent book, "Arguing with Zombies".

I believe his writing is clear and informative, and he uses language which everyone can understand.
And I thought what he wrote in the first half of the book which I managed to finish was very informative.

He's an unapologetic liberal economist, and often takes issue with many of the most conservative economic theories. Because this book is based in large part on his previously written columns from the NY Times, he gets the opportunity to revisit what he wrote, and then look back on the validity of his predictions. He also includes mention of the criticism of his columns when when they were written, and we see how well they turned out as well. Naturally, as the author, his viewpoints come out best.

Of course, there are complicating issues, and conditions frequently change after his columns go to print, but he does a good job of explaining these factors. But because few issues are ever settled in our economy, whether it's tax policy, budget deficits, the health of Social Security and Medicare, Obamacare, Fed policies, etc., his review of these programs and policies provides a wealth of information to read about and to think about.

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Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future
by Paul Krugman

This isn't what I expected. It's a collection of essays but I hadn't read them so no problem. Some people have a problem with essays but I don't, it's just not what I expected.

It covers economic, social, and political issues that have hindered growth here in America and the author does a good job explaining why. One party, drastically more than the other, has resisted change and has been obsessed with several issues such as not taxing the rich, cutting social security and Medicare, cutting other social systems, increasing military spending and becoming increasingly involved in international covert operations, prison privatization, and more. Trickle down does not work and that's been proven.

That party also, more than the other, has no problem lying to the public about the issues surrounding any of these, especially the cost. Honesty is not their policy. Getting what they want is. We are still in a war from this lying game.

My grandma use to call it ,"Beating a dead horse". I like the author's title better. It still is the same. Republicans are not known for policy making but for policy blocking. They use the same ideas over and over. Talking to them about their policies is like reanimated corpses that shambles about hoping someone will do something for them.

I don't understand why anyone in our government would not want to help our people have adequate healthcare, good schools, freedom to choose their own partner, religion, care for their own body, common sense gun laws, taxes fair across the board, accept migrants in their time of need, feed the hungry, save the planet, love everyone not just white people, and keep prison privatization out of our lives, protect wildlife, and want everyone to vote. I just don't understand! ( )

Mr. Krugman takes a very confusing subject, and breaks it down into simple pieces, then explains it in simple terms that are easy to understand. I didn't always agree with his opinions, but he lays out a great argument for his point of view ( )

Economics written in a manner that a moderately educated person can understand. The book is a collection of op-eds that Krugman has written over the last twenty years. Krugman dissects the fallacies of the conservative take on macroeconomics and shows the strengths of what he calls social democracy and why it benefits regular people in the United States and the world at large. He guts the Euro and the right's constant attempts to privatize everything - the truth is that the government is is more efficient and less costly. A great book. ( )