Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez started an extended discussion about economics and John Maynard Keynes, where unfortunately she referred to him as “Milton Keynes,” exposing her lack of knowledge in the field.
The New York Democrat said that the “famed economist Milton Keynes predicted that by 2030, GDP and technology would have advanced so much that it would allow everyday people to work as little as 15 hours a week and provide for their families.”
The 30-year-old Ocasio-Cortez said that Keynes was not entirely wrong because technology and GDP “have advanced wildly since the 1960s” but that wealth inequality has kept people from experiencing a shorter workweek, as the Washington Examiner reported.
People educated on the subject of economics found this to be very confusing, coming from an economics degree holder and state representative.
The freshman congresswoman later clarified that she had mistaken Milton Friedman with Keynes. “UGGGH TYPO. It’s John Maynard Keynes. Mixed his name with Milton Friedman — a (very) different economist,” she said.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, a socialist, has a degree in economics from Boston University, which she regularly brags about on social media.
Friedman was a staunch free market economist, while Keynes laid a significant amount of theory behind the idea that government spending contributed toward economic growth.
