Chart of the day II

Actual results compared to the predictions of professional economists.

Via Dan Mitchell, who adds:

This does not mean economists are idiots (insert obvious joke here), but it is an additional reason why Keynesianism is misguided. If economists are unable to predict what’s going to happen with the economy in the near future, why should we expect anything positive when politicians tinker with short-run economic performance? That’s especially the case when they pass so-called stimulus legislation that increases the burden of government spending.

This doesn’t mean that economists – and others – are never accurate with predictions. But I am quite confident that we will never see an economic model that successfully predicts future economic fluctuations.

Absolutely. This why central planning is a failure and placing too much power in the hands of a credentialed coterie is so dangerous.