Aug 28th, 2011
The Economist laments the current obsession with reducing debt in Western economies generally, but their harshest critique is directed at our own:
"America... has done virtually nothing to deal with its medium-term deficit, but on current policy will see the biggest short-term tightening of the big rich economies next year. That would have been a poor choice even in a reasonable recovery. Given the economy’s weakness, it looks daft. But it could be fixed. The congressional supercommittee charged with finding ways to trim the ten-year deficit as part of the recent debt-ceiling deal could agree on a bolder package of entitlement cuts and new revenue, while Barack Obama and the Republicans could limit the short-term squeeze by extending the temporary payroll-tax cut and boosting spending on things like roads and school repairs."
I part ways with their editors on issues of "entitlements" but they are otherwise dead on.
Matthew Desmond notes how eerily similar this preoccupation with debt reduction at the expense of all other policy initiatives is to the disastrous path once taken by the Hoover Administration.
Alas, we are now in a climate dominated by zealots who proceed as if they worship Murray Rothbard's historical revisionism and laissez-faire extremism. That is to say, the debate has been hijacked by people who actually don't believe in government directly stimulating the economy in any form to alleviate the crisis.
Showing posts with label economic decline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economic decline. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
No Recovery
Aug 24th, 2011
If one accepts the narrow and long held academic definitions of the words "recession" and depression," then technically we are in a recovery. Which makes those 20th Century meanings quite absurd. Job creation is not much different now than it was 10 years ago. That is to say, for a full decade we have have failed to add even enough jobs monthly to accommodate new entrants to the workforce, much less return to employment the millions whose positions were lost during the "height" of the crisis in late 2008 and early 2009.
As Roubini pointed out last week, the crisis is actually structural:
"We thought that markets worked. They're not working."
Over at TNR, Richard A. Posner basically agrees with both points:
"If the notion that we are merely living through the after effects of a mere "recession" that ended in 2009 sounds somewhat ridiculous, that’s because it is. If we were being honest with ourselves, we would call this a depression. That would certainly better convey both the severity of our problems, and the fact that those problems have no evident solutions."
We live in an era within which rational public sector solutions are not only the only real hope for a transformative remedy but are also politically impossible due to the fanatical opposition of a Randian and Misesian Republican Party.
In short, we're screwed.
If one accepts the narrow and long held academic definitions of the words "recession" and depression," then technically we are in a recovery. Which makes those 20th Century meanings quite absurd. Job creation is not much different now than it was 10 years ago. That is to say, for a full decade we have have failed to add even enough jobs monthly to accommodate new entrants to the workforce, much less return to employment the millions whose positions were lost during the "height" of the crisis in late 2008 and early 2009.
As Roubini pointed out last week, the crisis is actually structural:
"We thought that markets worked. They're not working."
Over at TNR, Richard A. Posner basically agrees with both points:
"If the notion that we are merely living through the after effects of a mere "recession" that ended in 2009 sounds somewhat ridiculous, that’s because it is. If we were being honest with ourselves, we would call this a depression. That would certainly better convey both the severity of our problems, and the fact that those problems have no evident solutions."
We live in an era within which rational public sector solutions are not only the only real hope for a transformative remedy but are also politically impossible due to the fanatical opposition of a Randian and Misesian Republican Party.
In short, we're screwed.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
What We Need
August 4th, 2011
The Economist, that once staid and altogether traditionally conservative bastion of reasonable economic thought, tells it like it is while issuing a common sense call for action... again.
"Extension of the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits would improve confidence, reduce projected fiscal tightening over the next year, and ease the suffering of the unemployed. The double-dip is at the door. Only quick action can send it packing now."
This isn't about entitlements. It's about the government not actively increasing the crisis of demand.
The Economist, that once staid and altogether traditionally conservative bastion of reasonable economic thought, tells it like it is while issuing a common sense call for action... again.
"Extension of the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits would improve confidence, reduce projected fiscal tightening over the next year, and ease the suffering of the unemployed. The double-dip is at the door. Only quick action can send it packing now."
This isn't about entitlements. It's about the government not actively increasing the crisis of demand.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Quote Of The Day - Here and Now Edition
August 4th, 2011
"Imagine, if you will, someone who read only the Wall Street Journal editorial page between 2000 and 2011, and someone in the same period who read only the collected columns of Paul Krugman.
Which reader would have been better informed about the realities of the current economic crisis? The answer, I think, should give us pause. Can it be that our enemies were right?"
-- David Frum continuing his retreat from the fringe and looking back over the last decade's misplaced economic priorities
It was NEVER "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs"
August 4th, 2011
I can still hear it. The refrain from the GOP leading into the 2010 midterms was "jobs, jobs, jobs." That they didn't mean it or, worse, actually were going to do everything in their power to damage the economy further for traction in 2012 seemed clear to some of us at the time.
Here are some reminders and a recap of the GOP's push from PoliticsUSA:
"Earlier in the year when House Speaker John Boehner was told that the spending cuts Republicans proposed would cost one million jobs, he said, “So be it.” Apparently Mr. Boehner thought it was more important to cut essential aid programs than create jobs, and it was flippant of him to say in effect, so what. Republicans have no intention of ever creating any jobs even though they lied in 2010 and promised it would be their highest priority. Jobs are still on Boehner’s mind though because when President Obama proposed a balanced approach to addressing the nation’s deficit, Boehner accused the president of attempting to “raise taxes on the job creators.” For most Republicans, the only time jobs are important is when they can make a reference to tax increases on the filthy rich and corporations.
Last year when Democrats attempted to pass a jobs bill, Republicans in the Senate blocked the measure for no other reason than it was not their bill. The bill gave tax breaks and incentives to small businesses for new job hires, but Republicans were anxious to deny Democrats any more legislative accomplishments before the midterm elections. When President Obama and Democrats attempted to eliminate tax breaks for companies that move Americans’ jobs to Korea, India, and China, Republicans blocked the bill because it did not reward corporate outsourcing. Prior to a vote on the outsourcing bill, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce president made the rounds on news programs to tout the benefits of shipping Americans’ jobs overseas to corporations. Republicans said that removing tax breaks from companies that outsource jobs would stifle job creation. Yes, they said it and it is proof there is no sense of shame with these job-killing Republicans; why any American voted for them in 2010 is a mystery unless one figures in the racial element. It is becoming more evident every day that Republicans cannot stand the fact that there is a Black man sitting in the Oval Office and if hurting the President means eliminating more Americans’ jobs, then as John Boehner says, so be it."
I can still hear it. The refrain from the GOP leading into the 2010 midterms was "jobs, jobs, jobs." That they didn't mean it or, worse, actually were going to do everything in their power to damage the economy further for traction in 2012 seemed clear to some of us at the time.
Here are some reminders and a recap of the GOP's push from PoliticsUSA:
"Earlier in the year when House Speaker John Boehner was told that the spending cuts Republicans proposed would cost one million jobs, he said, “So be it.” Apparently Mr. Boehner thought it was more important to cut essential aid programs than create jobs, and it was flippant of him to say in effect, so what. Republicans have no intention of ever creating any jobs even though they lied in 2010 and promised it would be their highest priority. Jobs are still on Boehner’s mind though because when President Obama proposed a balanced approach to addressing the nation’s deficit, Boehner accused the president of attempting to “raise taxes on the job creators.” For most Republicans, the only time jobs are important is when they can make a reference to tax increases on the filthy rich and corporations.
Last year when Democrats attempted to pass a jobs bill, Republicans in the Senate blocked the measure for no other reason than it was not their bill. The bill gave tax breaks and incentives to small businesses for new job hires, but Republicans were anxious to deny Democrats any more legislative accomplishments before the midterm elections. When President Obama and Democrats attempted to eliminate tax breaks for companies that move Americans’ jobs to Korea, India, and China, Republicans blocked the bill because it did not reward corporate outsourcing. Prior to a vote on the outsourcing bill, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce president made the rounds on news programs to tout the benefits of shipping Americans’ jobs overseas to corporations. Republicans said that removing tax breaks from companies that outsource jobs would stifle job creation. Yes, they said it and it is proof there is no sense of shame with these job-killing Republicans; why any American voted for them in 2010 is a mystery unless one figures in the racial element. It is becoming more evident every day that Republicans cannot stand the fact that there is a Black man sitting in the Oval Office and if hurting the President means eliminating more Americans’ jobs, then as John Boehner says, so be it."
The Problem Is STILL Demand, ctd...
August 4th, 2011
We need a new WPA. It really is quite simple. Yet, the whole of legislative government seems willfully dismissive. Richard D. Wolff adds his voice to those pleading for a little common sense and takes aim at both parties:
"Neither party dares to return taxes on corporations and the rich to what they were. Neither party dares to advocate that government hire the unemployed to rebuild the US, to spend their government-job wages on maintaining their mortgages (reviving the housing industry) and thereby stimulate the whole economy from the bottom up. Above all, neither party dares admit that so long as production remains in the hands of tiny groups of rich shareholders and boards of directors, they will keep looting the system."
We need a new WPA. It really is quite simple. Yet, the whole of legislative government seems willfully dismissive. Richard D. Wolff adds his voice to those pleading for a little common sense and takes aim at both parties:
"Neither party dares to return taxes on corporations and the rich to what they were. Neither party dares to advocate that government hire the unemployed to rebuild the US, to spend their government-job wages on maintaining their mortgages (reviving the housing industry) and thereby stimulate the whole economy from the bottom up. Above all, neither party dares admit that so long as production remains in the hands of tiny groups of rich shareholders and boards of directors, they will keep looting the system."
The country we were all born into, with its vibrant middle class, is effectively in limbo and the prospects for an American 21st Century are increasingly slim. The fact that this is all avoidable renders the current situation tragic in the literal sense of the word.
Flashback... Boehner Doesn't Understand Simple Economics Edition
August 4th, 2011
While reading through some old links, I came across this from Steve Benen. He warned us before the debt deal disaster that Speaker Boehner was "economically illiterate:"
"House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appears to have made a terrible error in his speech to the Economic Club of New York on Monday. His mistake was sharing with the audience his actual beliefs, which upon even cursory examination, are so conspicuously unintelligent, it’s rather alarming.
Bloomberg News examined Boehner’s assessment of existing U.S. economic policies and found that the House Speaker “built his case on several assertions that are contradicted by market indicators and government reports.” Jonathan Chait took a closer look at Boehner’s remarks on tax policy and discovered they were “gibberish.”
While reading through some old links, I came across this from Steve Benen. He warned us before the debt deal disaster that Speaker Boehner was "economically illiterate:"
"House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appears to have made a terrible error in his speech to the Economic Club of New York on Monday. His mistake was sharing with the audience his actual beliefs, which upon even cursory examination, are so conspicuously unintelligent, it’s rather alarming.
Bloomberg News examined Boehner’s assessment of existing U.S. economic policies and found that the House Speaker “built his case on several assertions that are contradicted by market indicators and government reports.” Jonathan Chait took a closer look at Boehner’s remarks on tax policy and discovered they were “gibberish.”
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Who ARE We?
June 23rd, 2011
Who are we indeed? What do we value? What matters to us? It is rare that a story so disturbing as the one that follows comes across my desk. The headline could just as easily have read No One Notices Man On Fire
Simon Black writes for Business Insider:
"Late last week, Thomas James Ball reached his breaking point.
Driven to desperation by a system that bankrupted him and destroyed his family, Ball walked up to the main door of the Keene County, New Hampshire courthouse, doused himself with gasoline, and lit himself ablaze.
Hardly anyone seems to have noticed.
Conversely, when a 26-year old Tunisian man lit himself on fire a few months ago after police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he had been selling without a proper permit, it launched a wave of revolution across the Middle East.
People were shocked into taking action… protests and riots swept the region and one regime after another crumbled.
Rather than sparking an “American spring” and shocking US citizens into taking their country back, though, Mr. Ball’s act of self-immolation seems to have been largely ignored. There has been scant coverage (and scant is being extremely generous) of Mr. Ball in the mainstream media, and what little coverage there is generally discredits the man as a troublemaker."
The question of whether or not Thomas James Ball was altogether rational is not what is important here. The question is when did we become a country in which a fellow citizen could set themselves on fire for a political purpose in a public square and it wasn't news?
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| Artist Rendering |
Simon Black writes for Business Insider:
"Late last week, Thomas James Ball reached his breaking point.
Driven to desperation by a system that bankrupted him and destroyed his family, Ball walked up to the main door of the Keene County, New Hampshire courthouse, doused himself with gasoline, and lit himself ablaze.
Hardly anyone seems to have noticed.
Conversely, when a 26-year old Tunisian man lit himself on fire a few months ago after police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he had been selling without a proper permit, it launched a wave of revolution across the Middle East.
People were shocked into taking action… protests and riots swept the region and one regime after another crumbled.
Rather than sparking an “American spring” and shocking US citizens into taking their country back, though, Mr. Ball’s act of self-immolation seems to have been largely ignored. There has been scant coverage (and scant is being extremely generous) of Mr. Ball in the mainstream media, and what little coverage there is generally discredits the man as a troublemaker."
The question of whether or not Thomas James Ball was altogether rational is not what is important here. The question is when did we become a country in which a fellow citizen could set themselves on fire for a political purpose in a public square and it wasn't news?
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