New Fox News piece: Poland's Economic Architect Will Be Missed

My newest piece at Fox News starts this way:

Among the Polish leaders lost in the plane crash in Russia last weekend was Slawomir Skrzypek, head of the National Bank of Poland. Skrzypek was the architect behind the scenes of what has been Poland’s economic success over the last couple of years.

Americans know all too well the effects of the big drop in economic growth we suffered last year. That same fate has befallen virtually all of Europe. While Europe’s GDP has fallen by 2.2 percent over the last year, Poland’s grew by 3.1 percent. It is quite a feat for a country's economy to grow while its neighbors, and close trading partners, have been contracting.

Poland stands out because of its commitment to free-market policies, and Skrzypek pushed for this behind the scenes as well as ensuring a fairly stable money supply. Facing down the global economic crisis, Poland slashed marginal tax rates, cut government spending and temporarily suspended some government regulations. The U.S. and the rest of Europe adopted a Keynesian economic policy and went in the opposite direction. . . .