Economists Are Said to Be Out of Touch

So-called economist Allan Meltzer, of The Times Board of Economists, said in a recent editorial on the sinking middle class, “We have had a mild recession, and we are having a gradual recovery.” (“If Middle Class Is Falling Behind, Solution Lies in Higher Productivity,” Dec. 8).

That’s like describing a man with a persistent cough who is anemic, bed-ridden, emaciated, unable to eat and in constant pain as someone who is recovering from the common cold. I’m glad Meltzer is just an economist and not a doctor of medicine.

Meltzer also suggested that the trend of middle-class losses in income, “absolutely as well as relatively,” was illusory. But I know what I see is real. It’s real, and it’s fading fast.

The Times Board of Economists would be better served if it were comprised of, indeed chaired by, Joe Average wage earner, from the trenches of Middle Americana like myself, than the quack, elitist “scholars” who appear to be completely out of touch with reality.

JOSEPH TALIENTO

Carlsbad