Having never studied economics, I have no clue what is going on in the economic stimulus "debate" going on in Washington. We have plenty of people offering opinions, but I don't know which commentators (a) know what they are talking about or (b) are telling the truth.

I know for sure that we will get no help at all from clowns like Senator Thune who explained to us how tall the proposed stimulus package would be if it were in $100 bills stacked one on top of the other or Senator McConnell who calculated how many dollars you would need to spend each day since the birth of Christ to make up the amount that is proposed to be spent. Those small-minded, partisan hacks don't understand, or don't care, that the country has a serious problem that requires serious solutions. To the extent they can be ignored, we are all better off.

My sense is that Paul Krugman is honest and certainly knows a thing or two about economics. Beyond him, I don't know whose stuff to read. Krugman, I think it's fair to say, comes from the left. Can anyone suggest some good, honest economists who come to the issue from a more rightward perspective?

Krugman seems slightly left to me, but he's not a socialist.
I just finished reading Black Swan. If you don't want to increase your skepticism about economic forecasting, don't read it.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Krugman as a professional economist - years ago, prior to (IIRC) leaving MIT for Stanford, then going back to MIT and focusing more on NYT columns than the study of economics - was slightly left of center. No comment on his current standing...

For opinions from the other side of things, you can start with Walter Williams and Don Boudreaux (George Mason University) and Thomas Sowell at the Hoover Institute / Stanford University.

Try these guys. The Austrian school of economics has always made the most sense to me, but it is rare to find a university that actually teaches it.
www.mises.org

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

"Black Swan" was a good read. Everybody in the investor class should read it.