Of Economics and Alligators

Krugman's piece today is about the wise old men of economics always focusing on the long term instead of dealing with the problems of today:

So saying that we need to focus on the long term, and not worry our little heads about trivial short-term issues like the highest long-term unemployment rate since the Great Depression, may sound like wisdom — but it’s actually folly.

Oh, and one more point — not about El-Erian, but about quite a few policymakers and economists: the attempt to shift the discussion away from the short run is not, as often portrayed, an act of vision of courage. On the contrary, it’s an act of cowardice, an attempt to evade responsibility for a disastrous state of affairs that we could fix, but choose not to.

There's an old saying: When you face a major problem it is best to analyze the situation find the root cause and then fix it, however when you're up to your ass in alligators it's hard to remember you should have drained the swamp.