Why is Ben Stein writing about the economy in the NYT biz section?

Felix Salmon of Conde Nast Portfolio wants to know why economist/actor Ben Stein is writing a column in the Sunday New York Times that is full of errors.

Salmon noted that Stein got facts about former Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget wrong in his column on Sunday, and that he misquoted himself.

Salmon wrote, “Stein, of course, is the man who played the economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. ‘Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?’ is funny when it comes from Brad DeLong, attacking Stein. But the thing is, Stein’s character never actually says it in the movie.

“Stein finishes up his column seemingly asking the SEC to regulate everything that absolutely anybody might conceivably invest in. He doesn’t claim that this massive expansion of regulatory responsibilities would do any good, mind you; he just ends his column, cryptically enough, by saying that ‘the ladder of law should have no top and no bottom.’ It’s a Bob Dylan lyric which Stein obviously loves, since this is the second time this year he’s trundled it out.

“So here’s my idea. Since Stein clearly isn’t being featured in the business section on the grounds of his economic expertise, he’s obviously got this gig on the grounds of his celebrity status. Maybe the Times has no desire to replace Stein with someone (like DeLong, say) who actually knows what he’s talking about – what they want is a writer who’s vaguely familiar with economic concepts but who’s also something of a household name. My suggestion: Bob Dylan.”

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