How Bad of an Economist is Robert Shiller?

The Nobel laureate and professor of economics at Yale University, Robert Shiller, has an essay in The New York Times that begins:

Economic inequality is already a concern, but it could become a nightmare in the decades ahead, and I fear that we are not well equipped to deal with it.

Truly extreme gaps in income and wealth could arise from many causes. Consider just a few: Innovations in robotics and artificial intelligence, which are already making many jobs uncompetitive, could lead us into a world in which basic work with decent pay becomes impossible to find.

For the record,
inequality in and of itself is not a problem.

Second, the idea that the increasing use of robots and artificial intelligence will lead to a fall in the standard of living for many is a self-contradiction.

The sad state of the economic profession is reflected in the fact that a Nobel laureate does not grasp these basic concepts.

Further, it is disappointing, though not surprising, to see this type nonsense find its way into the pages of the Gray Lady. It has long been obvious that the Lady is well past her energetic years when the great Henry Hazlitt  was there as the principal editorial writer on finance and economics (From 1934 to 1946). But now methinks her mind has completely gone. Expect all kinds of crazy thoughts to rattle around at the rag and find themselves in future editions.

  -RW