*Fake* Krugman: "People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage."

UPDATE BREAKING NEWS ALERT: This yeoman Krugman watcher was fooled, y'all. Dave Weigel writes that Krugman's Google+ account was started by one Carlos Gaterol, who wanted to illustrate through parody "the many misguided beliefs that Paul Krugman holds, defends, and espouses on a daily basis."

Krugman responded this morning to the ruse. From the doctor's NYT blog, which is VERIFIED: 

This is really cute, not. Apparently some people can't find enough things to attack in what I actually say, so they're busy creating fake quotes. And I have enough on my plate without trying to chase all this stuff down.

So if you see me quoted as saying something really stupid or outrageous, and it didn't come from the Times or some other verifiable site, you should probably assume it was a fake.

I regret the error.

Original Post: 

That pearl of wistful wisdom, in case it's not obvious, is in reference to the over-covered earthquake that terrified the entire Eastern Seaboard for a few seconds this afternoon. You can find plenty others like it at the uncensored-for-now Google+ page of Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman.