Post Quizzes DiNapoli on Comptrolling

In a stroke of brilliance, the NY Post decided to test new State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on economics and elements of his new job. Basically, the Post ambushed DiNapoli at Great Neck's Plaza Cafe on Saturday (the Post writes that it "confronted" him). In spite of saying "I'm not up for a quiz," DiNapoli gamely tried to answer some questions:

... [He] feeble crack at five Economics 101 questions asked of him, getting them flat-out wrong, hedging on them or fidgeting uncomfortably while he fished for an answer.

In one instance, he straight-up admitted he didn't know the answer.

For example, DiNapoli blew off a question about an economic situation that is considered a predictor of a recession - and then railed at The Post for even asking.

"I'm out of high school and elementary school and that's the time for that," he petulantly argued after giving a long-winded and nonsensical nonanswer.

Also hilarious but really sobering for everyone who didn't want DiNapoli as comptroller is that he didn't know what the fund's largest holding is ($9.86 billion in inflation-protected Treasury bonds) or how much of the fund is invested in stocks (almost half the $140 billion fund is in stocks). Sure, he's only been Comptroller for two days, but we thought that when you want a job, you study it.

Here's the Post's quiz, complete with photograph of a frustrated DiNapoli, and here's The Economist's definition of recession.