>Hey careful here, what are you calling a quasi science here. Not economics I hope. :) If two shmucks (at Harvard or anywhere else) (1) use excel to support their assertions and (2) make 101 errors, you might blame a) Harvard, b) the validation process of the publication, c) the gullability of the public at large and some economists in particular d) Excel (if you must) and only eventually economic science no?
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>Couldn't let this attack on my primary beliefs go unchallenged :).

Oh, if this a belief system, shouldn't we move it into the religion category? :)

Look, this is not the general public who turned out to be gullible, it's the top of the brass in a little town near you, who then roughshod several governments into firing thousands of their employees, cutting retirements, education and health funds etc etc. And all of that based on a single spreadsheet full of errors? I don't think so. The spreadsheet has only one error, the one called "we got caught".

There was an obvious political push to introduce austerity - heck, I even know a guy somewhere in the US, I'd guess Boston, who pays $2000 rent in an apartment where he has water rationing, which is probably the high level fake austerity for those who want to join the trend. I think it's a psychological move to introduce solidarity among regular citizens, who were born and raised in individualism and the "you get what you pay for" logic, to make this paradoxical situation normal. The paradox is, of course, that there's always some bailout money for the big guys, while the retirement funds and other low players will have to suffer and show some solidarity, carry their share of the burden and get off the state's teat, this isn't socialism. Socialism is only for the big guys.

And just like the Iraq war brought up the expression "presstitutes" for the gentlepersons of the press who serve the agenda of the big players and paint anything in the tones as ordered, this should merit an expression for any science which, if paid or pressed enough, accepts the quasi prefix and serves whatever kind of proof they can muster to fit the workorder. And I'm not talking about economy only - look at East Anglia university.