Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University’s Earth Institute pulls off an enviable twofer: He has an op/ed in today’s New York Times AND today’s Los Angeles Times on what to do about the world’s poor, especially in Africa. Tsk, tsk, Jeff. This is not the sort of recycling that editorial page editors, even at major liberal papers, are particularly fond of.

Sachs is one of those people elites think is brilliant but time and again produces unoriginal cant. In the two pieces he bashes rich Americans, President Bush, and calls for more foreign aid. LA and New York readers have never heard that before. If either Times wanted to educate readers, why not ask William Easterly, author of “The Elusive Quest for Growth”, or someone who actually knows what he’s talking about, write for them?