The Battle of the Pauls is raging.
For the third time in as many days, Paul Krugman is slamming Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his budget plan, which proposes to slash government spending.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist wrote in a blog post Thursday that some of the research backing Ryan's claims -- Ryan says that deep government spending cuts would boost the economy -- has been "more thoroughly refuted... than any other popular doctrine I can think of."
"Ryan's complete lack of self-reflection is nonetheless something wondrous to behold," Krugman wrote.
The dig is just the latest in the Krugman-Ryan spat. Krugman has called Ryan's plan cruel and "a path to continued depression." Ryan fought back, claiming Tuesday that "there have been lots of studies debunking" Krugman's argument that boosting government spending helps the economy when it's weak.
A number of economists back Krugman's claims. Eighty percent of economists in the IGM Economic Experts Panel agreed last year that the 2009 stimulus lowered the unemployment rate.
And there's real-world evidence indicating that Ryan's approach could hurt economic growth. Eurozone countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece have been slashing government spending. The Eurozone economy is shrinking and unemployment rates are at a record high.