Here is a nice paper that I have stumbled on, “The Scientific Illusion in Empirical Macroeconomics” by Lawrence Summers. Basic argument of the paper is : Formal econometric work where elaborate technique is used to either apply theory to data or to isolate the direction of causal relationships where they are not obvious a priori virtually always fails. If this argument is accepted it suggest that in evaluating empirical work we should begin by asking different questions than the ones usually posed.

A nice illustration about the current US situation

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. - Ralph Emerson.