I usually try to put these up on Sunday, but this one deserves to go up early.

…give me a break. If you actually read that article, actually read it, I was joking.

— Paul Krugman, responding to a question on his alleged advocacy of a housing bubble in 2002 (during a lecture given in Madrid, 2012). (HT @diegodelacruz)

I had defended Krugman’s advocacy against claims that he, in some way, supported what caused the most recent crisis. I suggested he may have preferred a “controlled” bubble; that is, a sufficient rise in aggregate demand to get us out of the early 2000s recession. Note, I’m not saying this was a good policy proposal, just that Krugman isn’t some maniac who likes creating and puncturing bubble economies. But, now that Krugman claims he was joking, my defense goes out the window.

Here is the question and answer session,

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXvDUExorfw]