The WSJ tells us that "economists are giving up on the idea that the U.S. housing slump will be quick and relatively painless." It is good to see that economists' forecasts are moving closer to reality. However, the question remains why did so many economists fail to recognize the severity of the housing slump (they are still seriously underestimating it)? And, the important question for the WSJ and other major media outlets is why do they rely almost exclusively on economists who were wrong as sources for their articles on the topic?
--Dean Baker
