Remembering a Teacher

December 1, 2004

Remembering a Teacher

Bernard Saffran, known to many economists for his regular column in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, died suddenly of a heart attack on Monday. When I was an undergraduate, I took most of my economics courses from Bernie. I wrote this essay when I found out about his death. I tried to recall a few of his sayings.

"The Army Corps of Engineers wants to do as many projects as possible, so they try to use as low an interest rate as they can to discount future benefits. At a low enough interest rate, it pays to dam the Crum." (a tiny creek near Swarthmore)

"Milton Friedman and Paul Samuelson say the same thing in their price theory texts. The difference is that on policy issues, Friedman actually takes price theory seriously."

For Discussion. For readers who knew Bernie, feel free to add any comments in the comment section.