Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confused 2 of history's most famous economists and ended up name checking the most ridiculed town in the UK

Instagram/AOC

A screenshot from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Instagram story on Friday.

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confused the names of two famous economists on Friday and inadvertently called out an infamous UK town.
• In her Instagram story the Congresswoman set out a prediction about the US economy she said was made by "Milton Keynes."
• It was actually made by John Maynard Keynes, and Ocasio-Cortez said she confused him with Milton Freidman, the American free market economist.
• Milton Keynes is an oft-ridiculed town 50 miles north of London that has long been maligned and the butt of jokes over its reputation as the most uninspiring example of post-war town planning.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez inadvertently name-checked one of the UK's most-ridiculed towns on Friday by confusing two of history's most famous economists.

"I was just reading today about how Milton Keynes, a famous economist back in the day, predicted that by 2030 US GDP would grow six to eight times what it is, which would allow for everyday people to work 15 hours a week," Ocasio-Cortez said on her Instagram story.

The prediction Ocasio-Cortez made reference to is the work of John Maynard-Keynes, a 20th century British economist, but she said later that she has confused him with the US economist Milton Friedman.

The amalgamation of "Milton" and "Keynes" makes the name of a town, 50 miles north of London.

Built from scratch in 1967 as an experiment in centralized town planning, Milton Keynes is often ridiculed in the UK as an uninspiring and banal settlement.

Ocasio-Cortez quickly rectified the mistake, posting an edited screenshot of the video saying it was a typo.

Ocasio-Cortez also said the name "Milton Keynes" out loud.

"UGGGH TYPO. It's John Maynard Keynes. Mixed his name with Milton Friedman - a (very) different economist," Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

AOC/Instagram

A screenshot from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's story on Instagram.

Milton Keynes is famous for very little, but most of all for its 1,300 roundabouts, which is more than any other town in the UK. The website Round-a-Bouts of Britain has called Milton Keynes "roundabout Mecca."

J.G. Ballard, author of Empire of the Sun, wrote: "I always suspected that eternity would look like Milton Keynes."

"I didn't hate Milton Keynes immediately," joked the celebrated British writer Bill Bryson in his book "Notes from a Small Island."

The famous British comedian Bill Bailey called Milton Keynes "Satan's lay-by."

Ocasio-Cortez's slip-up was seized upon by several right-of-centre media outlets, including Fox News and the Washington Examiner.

Ocasio-Cortez drew on the work of Freidman in a March 2019 speech, as Business Insider's Jim Edwards wrote.

My favorite economist: MILTON KEYNES pic.twitter.com/omexQZrxWN

- andrew.txt (@andurudottext) February 8, 2020

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