This is how Paul Krugman is quoted today in an interview with one of the leading newspapers in Croatia. Apparently, he is addressing Croatians as a people. The battle cry appears in the very title of the article, too. He is speaking to the government rather than all and sundry, of course. After all, he is a macroeconomist propagating the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, a macroeconomist par excellence. In short, austerity policy is a bad idea in an economic crisis as deep as the current one. His advice is thus not for Croatians only, but for Americans and Europeans, as well. Anyhow, I wonder how his words will be interpreted in Croatia. Even if people start spending like crazy, the misquoted advice may turn out to be useful. Increased spending would inevitably prop up the flagging economy even though much of it would inevitably go for imports. In short, misunderstandings can occasionally be useful. But I must be exaggerating the impact of the Nobel laureate’s words in Croatia or anywhere else. Who in the world takes economists seriously nowadays?!