Description Paul Krugman, Laureate of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2008 at a press conference ...

Paul Krugman has a personal dilemma.

That's because President Barack Obama's most recent proposal for a fiscal cliff deal includes extending unemployment benefits and boosting spending, as well as a stingier inflation measure for Social Security benefits, which Krugman describes as a "a cruel, stupid policy" in his blog post.

"Am I dead set against? No, I'm still agonizing. Very uncomfortable times," the Nobel Prize-winning economist wrote Tuesday of Obama's plan on his New York Times blog.

Many economists have warned of the negative economic impact of going over the fiscal cliff, but Krugman argued in an interview with WNYC in November that going over the fiscal cliff -- or letting the scheduled tax hikes and spending cuts take place -- could be preferable to cutting a deal now.