In reacting to a remark by Jonathan Chait to the effect that “Private forecasters unanimously believe that fiscal stimulus can temporarily boost growth” Megan McArdle wise-cracked: “I find this pretty underwhelming, since private forecasters also unanimously think they can make forecasts”.
In a similar vein Mike Shedlock recently pointed out that 58 out of 58 economists polled on unemployment claims gave overly optimistic forecasts.
