Wow. They must have a bad paint fumes problem at a noted economist's office.

Paul Krugman of the New York Times has suggested we need a war with space aliens, such as on an old Twilight Zone episode.

You can see a video of that comment at Newsbusters and a transcript where Krugman said:

On Sunday's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," New York Times columnist - and, ahem, Nobel laureate - Paul Krugman actually advocated space aliens attack earth thereby requiring a massive defense buildup by the United States that would stimulate the economy.

Obviously, Dr. Krugman is stuck in 1960s thinking. Has he not seen the 1983 stealth alien invasion television program "V" or its 2009 remake? Or how about the 1988 television series "Alien Nation," where many humanoid aliens settle among earthlings, encounter discrimination, yet are able to join an American police force?

Has Krugman considered that the space aliens might come here and apply for welfare and food stamps, claiming 1000 wives each? And single female space aliens might have 1000 children each? I'm sure there are liberals and UFO enthusiasts who would champion such a campaign. And if the aliens have gray or green skin, they could claim racial (and national origin) discrimination in job seeking and housing. Surely they'd apply for Pentagon jobs, both civilian and military. 

I wonder if Dr. Krugman has considered the possibility that the space aliens would give away advanced robots that could actually do construction labor and also do service jobs at McDonald's and Walmart. The unemployment rate would rise above 50 percent overnight. This could prove even more embarrassing for the liberals than their current "shovel ready" jobs plan(s). I wonder what Krugman would then advocate?

But wait. What if the space aliens had more advanced robots that could do knowledge workers' jobs? What if the aliens offered "Pinch" Sulzberger of the New York Times a free Paul Krugman-like robot to replace the Op-ed economics columnist? Surely it wouldn't be that hard to build a robot that had as little consideration or understanding of the real human condition as Prof. Krugman. I bet that's something Dr. Krugman never considered in his musings.

Be careful what you wish for, Prof. Krugman.

Update. David Paulin writes:

It turns out that Krugman mispoke.The "alien invasion" he's referring to was depicted on "The Outer Limits" -- not on "The Twilight Zone."

Here is a photo of the horrifying alien that Krugman had in mind. And below is an excerpt from a Wikipedia entry about "The Outer Limits" episode, titled "The Architects of Fear."

The world has entered a Cold War-esque setting in which nuclear holocaust appears imminent. In the hope of staving off an apocalyptic military confrontation between nations, an idealistic group of scientists, working at United Labs, plan to stage a fake alien invasion of Earth, in an effort to unite all humanity against a perceived common enemy. The scientists have managed to study the planetary conditions on the planet Theta. They draw lots, and physicist Dr. Alan Leighton is chosen to undergo radical surgical procedures that will transform him into a projected figure from a planet with a different atmosphere.