Ian Bremmer: “There are always a lot of economists in the meetings but never a fellow political scientist. Political scientists don't work at banks—which is a problem. As political issues become more important for the markets, analysts at banks are asked all sorts of questions they don't have the ability to answer. And if you're getting paid to answer questions—as analysts at banks are—you never want to be in the position of saying you don't know. ¶ Whenever I'm speaking with a group of investors, I love to start with a disclaimer about my background. If they ask me where the dollar should be pegged against the euro, I say I don't know and I won't tell them. I'm not an economist. On the other hand, if they ask a global economist on Wall Street the impact of the upcoming Iraqi elections on stability in the Middle East, the economist doesn't know ... but will tell them. ”
Which is too bad, really, because sometimes "I don't know" is a perfectly good (and truthful—and useful!) answer.