I Am Sorry, But the Stupidest Man Alive Contest Is Closed!

John Tamny of National Review nevertheless submits his application--a fangs-bared leap-attack directed against Larry Lindsey:

John Tamny on the Yuan and Lawrence Lindsey on NRO Financial: To begin, just as Chinese authorities fix the yuan's value, so too do U.S. authorities fix the dollar's value. As the Journal's George Melloan noted in a recent editorial, "no currency actually 'floats.'" As opposed to commodities set by market forces, currencies today are merely paper concepts controlled by central banks through the creation of and extinguishment of that paper.

That the above is true calls into question Lindsey's assertion that the "Chinese clearly undervalue their exchange rate."

The above is not true. If it were true, it would not "call into question" Lindsey's assertion. This year it looks like China will spend $250 billion trying to keep the value of the renminibi low: that's the reason for Lindsey's assertion.

But sorry, John. It's too late.