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Biden Lies, Says Krugman, Stiglitz Who? (7/6/09), HuffPost
During his interview with ABC's This Week on Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden made what will be a much-discussed admission in the week ahead. The Obama administration, he said, had "misread" the extent of the economic catastrophe it inherited.
"The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy," declared Biden. "The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures and most of the blue chip indexes out there."
"We misread how bad the economy was, but we are now only about 120 days into the recovery package," the vice president said later in the interview. "The truth of the matter was, no one anticipated, no one expected that that recovery package would in fact be in a position at this point of having to distribute the bulk of money."
Certainly, the Obama administration's acknowledgment that it misjudged the crisis it inherited is rife with possibilities for its [critics]....For an Obama White House that, two weeks ago, told the public to measure the success of its policies based on jobs they created, it is difficult to decry these critiques as inherently unfair, regardless of what troubles were passed on from the Bush administration.
But equally problematic is Biden's assertion that "everyone" - not just the White House - was off in their prognostications. This is simply untrue.
Host George Stephanopoulos pointed out that "a lot of people were saying that you needed to do something bigger and bolder" when it came to the stimulus package. He named New York Times columnist Paul Krugman as one example. There are many others.
The prize-winning Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz not only warned that the stimulus was too small during its construction, the day after Obama signed it into law he predicted how its shortcomings would make themselves apparent.
"I think there is a broad consensus but not universal among economists that the stimulus package that was passed was badly designed and not enough. I know it is not universal but let me try to explain. First of all that it was not enough should be pretty apparent from what I just said: It is trying to offset the deficiency in aggregate demand and it is just too small," Stiglitz said.
"The shortfall in state revenue [is] probably in the order of 150 to 200 billion dollars a year. And the states have balanced budget frameworks so if you follow the newspaper you know the drastic problems that California and New York are in, these are really serious problems and because of their balanced budget frameworks they have to reduce their spending... if their income comes down. So that would be a negative stimulus of 150 to 200 billion unless there is federal aid.
"And the stimulus package there was a little of federal aid but just not enough. So what we will be doing is we will be laying off teachers and laying off people in the health care sector while we are hiring construction workers. It is a little strange for a design of a stimulus package. You ask, why do you want to hire construction workers and fire teachers. I don't know what is the rationale behind that."
Politex: At the time Obama's stimulus package was passed by Congress, critics warned that he would have to come back to Congress and ask for more stimulus money at a later date, so he was made aware of he size of the package with respect to the seriousness of our economic failure. Critics warned that he would have a harder time getting a second stimulus package through Congress, so he should have asked for more to begin with. Given the behavior of the Repubs since Obama has been in office, it's not difficult to believe that they wanted the stimulus package to fail, and held the line on stimulus spending, with the help of centrist Dems. Add to this Obama's well-known willingness to settle for half-way measures, which takes the pressure off the Repubs, who want to give him nothing.
Meanwhile, in spite of Biden's admission that the Obama administration is now aware of the greater severity of the economic crisis and that the funding is failing, senior adviser David Axelrod said yesterdy on Meet the Press that any discussion of a possible second stimulus package would wait until the fall. Given Biden's remarks, this implies that, at present, a stimulus package crafted for a serious economic crisis might work equally well for an even more serious economic crisis.
To Wacked Out Palin, Blatant Contradictions Prove Her Sincerity (7/5/09), Dowd
Palin’s speech is classic casuistry.
After girlish burbling about how “progressing our state” and serving Alaska “is the greatest honor that I could imagine,” and raving about how much she loves her job, she abruptly announced that she was making the ultimate sacrifice: dumping the state on her lieutenant.
Why “milk it,” as she put it, when you can quit it? “Only dead fish go with the flow,” she said, while cold fish can blow out of town. Leaving Alaska in the lurch is best for Alaska. She can better “effect change” in government from outside government. She can fulfill her promise of “efficiencies and effectiveness” by deserting Juneau midway through her term — and taking her tanning bed with her.
“We need those who will respect our Constitution,” said Palin, who swore on the Bible to uphold the Constitution. She said she can’t fulfill that silly old oath of office in the usual way because she’s not “wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.”
Naturally, she dragged the troops in, saying that her trip to see wounded soldiers overseas “fortified” her decision to give up because “they don’t give up.”
She refuses to succumb to the “politics of personal destruction.” It’s no fun unless she’s the one aiming those poison darts, as she did when she accused Barack Obama of associating “with terrorists who targeted their own country.”
Sometimes, she explained, if you’re the star, you have to “call an audible and pass the ball” and leave at halftime, “so the team can win” somehow without you.
The maverick must run free when greener pastures beckon. The musher must jump out of the dogsled when warmer climes call. As Palin’s spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, says, “The world is literally her oyster.”
But just remember, beloved Alaska, it’s all about you.
Palin's Independence Day (7/4/09), Politex
In a perfect embodiment of the present confusion of the Republican Party, Sara Palin has decided to step down as Governor of Alaska because, in her words:
1. She's quitting because continuing as governor would be "the quitter's way."
2. She's interrupting her term in office beause she wants her replacement to "continue without interruption."
3. She doesn't want to be a typical last-term governor and "hit the road" on junkets as she hits the road on "campaign... junkets."
Here is why she's quitting:
1. The longer she stays in office, barraged by both Alaskan parties, the longer her inane character, administrative foibles, and present lack of accomplishment will be on display.
2. She needs to return to the lower US with time on her hands because that's where the money and audience is if she expects to run a presidential primary campaign.
3. Failing that, she needs to solidify her right wing audience so she can get a job on Fox.
Like McCain who rolled the dice and made her a falling star, Palin's rolled the dice on Independence Day weekend, symbolic to her followers, much to the chagrin of rational folks and the delight of the press. (more by Gail Collins)
Republicans, Dem Senators Driving Half-Way Obama Into Depression
While His Foreclosure Reduction and Bank Lending Plans Fail (7/3/09),
Politex, Kristoff, Krugman
If the uncooperative, do-nothing Republicans were in control and their Dem opposition were acting like Repubs, they would be calling the Dems "unAmerican." And now that the Repubs are using congressional filibusters on a daily basis, why aren't the Dems, unlike the Repubs under Bush, getting press coverage by warning us that filibusters could bring down our nation of laws, and democracy itself. In fact, why aren't the Dems using scare tactics to warn the nation about the grave harm that Republicans are doing. While the Repubs played the scare card on a daily basis under Bush, Obama and the Dems would rather appeal to us rationally. Given the track record of the American electorate, this may prove to be a mistake.
According to Nicholar Kristoff, "Evidence is accumulating that the human brain systematically misjudges certain kinds of risks. In effect, evolution has programmed us to be alert for snakes and enemies with clubs, but we aren’t well prepared to respond to dangers that require forethought." Kristoff provides two examples from today's politics, the unwillingness of both Dems and Repubs to put Guantanamo prisoners in prisons on the mainland, and Congress's unwillingness to pass a stong climate controll bill. While we're over-alert for Guantanamo prisoners, climate changes "sneak in under the brain’s radar....In short, we’re brilliantly programmed to act on the risks that confronted us in the Pleistocene Age. We’re less adept with 21st-century challenges....This short-circuitry in our brains explains many of our policy priorities. We Americans spend nearly $700 billion a year on the military and less than $3 billion on the F.D.A., even though food-poisoning kills more Americans than foreign armies and terrorists."
This is the thinking that is presently leading us into a depression, as Krugman points out in today's op-ed piece. With the unemployment rate ready to reach 10% and states running out of money, "We have the Obama stimulus plan, which aims to create 3 ½ million jobs by late next year. That’s much better than nothing, but it’s not remotely enough. And there doesn’t seem to be much else going on. All of this is depressingly familiar to anyone who has studied economic policy in the 1930s. Once again a Democratic president has pushed through job-creation policies that will mitigate the slump but aren’t aggressive enough to produce a full recovery. Once again much of the stimulus at the federal level is being undone by budget retrenchment at the state and local level.
"So have we failed to learn from history, and are we, therefore, doomed to repeat it? Not necessarily — but it’s up to the president and his economic team to ensure that things are different this time. President Obama and his officials need to ramp up their efforts, starting with a plan to make the stimulus bigger. Just to be clear, I’m well aware of how difficult it will be to get such a plan enacted. There won’t be any cooperation from Republican leaders, who have settled on a strategy of total opposition, unconstrained by facts or logic....It’s also not clear whether the administration will get much help from Senate “centrists,” who partially eviscerated the original stimulus plan by demanding cuts in aid to state and local governments — aid that, as we’re now seeing, was desperately needed.
"And as an economist, I’d add that many members of my profession are playing a distinctly unhelpful role. It has been a rude shock to see so many economists with good reputations recycling old fallacies — like the claim that any rise in government spending automatically displaces an equal amount of private spending, even when there is mass unemployment — and lending their names to grossly exaggerated claims about the evils of short-run budget deficits. (Right now the risks associated with additional debt are much less than the risks associated with failing to give the economy adequate support.) Also, as in the 1930s, the opponents of action are peddling scare stories about inflation even as deflation looms.
"Obama administration economists understand the stakes. Indeed, just a few weeks ago, Christina Romer, the chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers, published an article on the “lessons of 1937” — the year that F.D.R. gave in to the deficit and inflation hawks, with disastrous consequences both for the economy and for his political agenda. What I don’t know is whether the administration has faced up to the inadequacy of what it has done so far....Getting another round of stimulus will be difficult. But it’s essential."
Stimulus, Environment, Health: Why Obama Ends Up With Weak, Half-Way Results (7/1/09), Brooks
BushBama Attacks Human Rights, Civil Liberties, Rule of Law (6/23/09), Herbert
Bush "Violation" Killing America's Lakes, Rivers Upheld By His Supreme Ct. (6/23/09), NYT
Republican Senators And Dems Like Nelson and Conrad Make Citizens Sick (6/22/09), Politex, Krugman
Obama's First Choice For Health Sec. Urges Him To Drop Fed. Public Health Care Plan.
Disappointing Daschle Is Now A Well-Paid Health Corporation Shill (6/19/09), Huffington
Obama To Daschle: Don't Worry, Tom, I Have Your Back (6/19/09), Huffington
Obama Has Decided To Save Fat, Corrupt Bankers. Period. (6/19/09), Huffington
Obama's Newly-Announced Economic Plan Rearranges Deck Chairs On the Titanic (6/18/09), Nocera
We'll Second That! Quotes of the Day (6/17/09), ed by Politex
Since Key Members Of Congress Have Holdings In/Ties To The Industry,
Can We Expect Meaningful Health Care Reform?, WP
Almost 30 key lawmakers helping draft landmark health-care legislation have financial holdings in the industry, totaling nearly $11 million worth of personal investments in a sector that could be dramatically reshaped by this summer's debate.
Obama Fuels Opponents' Argument Against Interracial Marriages, Politex, etc. (6, 16, '09)
Hooverville: Charismatic, Intelligent Obama Is Just A Failing Suit, Harpers (6, 14, '09)
For The Bottom 30% Of The Nation, We're In a Depression, Barbara Ehrenreich (6, 14, '09)
Abortion Doctor's Murder Sparks Waves Of Calm, Rational Discussion, Onion (6, 12, '09)
Homeland Security Warning Re Anti-Abortion, Anti-Jewish Terrorist Killings By
Right-Wing Extremists Attacked As Anti-Republican By GOP, Huffpost (6, 10, '09)
Jawboning For Obama: We're Not In This Together, Politex (June 9, 2009)
Tone Deaf Obama Gives Religious Anti-Abortion Activist Senior Public Policy Post
in Dept. of Health and Human Services On the Heels of the Murder of Law-Abiding
Abortionist, As Satomayor Remains Silent on Pro-Choice, Raw Story (June 6, 2009)
Bush, Obama, Senate Defeat Constitution In Wiretapping Case (June 4, 2009)
Supporting Hillary: Obama's Concerted Efforts To Halt Israeli Settlements;
Satellite Photos Indicate Israelis Lied To Bush (June 3, 2009)
The Payoff Plan: Obama and His Very Wealthy Car Czar Steal Pensions
From Workers, Give the Money to Banks , Greg Palast (June 2, 2009)
Readers' Poll: Do You Agree With Bush's Explanation Re Regulation? (May 30, 2009)
Groundhog Day: Bush a Tragic Figure, Still Denies His Incompetence (May 29, '09)
Barack Confronts Barak: Has Hillary Become Obama's Hit Lady?
Obama Selects Sotomayor, Liberal Lite Who Won't Challenge Bush Majority
MEMORIAL DAY: Bush, Obama, McCain, Hillary...Same, Same. Why? (May 25, 2009)
Same-Sex Marriage: Hillary's Courage Shames Obama's Timidity (May 24, 2009)
Health Care: Will Obama Fink Out On Another Campaign Promise? (May 22, 2009)
How Cheney Runs the New "White House Boy Toy" (May 20, 2009)
Bush Saw Iraq As Holy War, But What About Obama in Afghanistan? (May 19, 2009)
Obama Breaks Promise to New Orleans (May 18, 2009)
Obama's Protection of Bush Administration a "Fool's Errand", Frank Rich (May 17, 2009)
Corrupt System Remains: Dem Senate Supports Credit Card Mafia, 33-60
Refusal to Cap Initial Interest Rate Continues Bush-like Support of Wealthiest
Obama Calls For Limits At Meeting, NYT (May 14-15, 2009)
Obama to Gay Soldiers: Don't Tell Or I'll Dump You,HP (May 8, 2009)
Obama's Sec. of Transportation is a Typical D.C. Hack, NYT (May 5, 2009)
Why David Brooks is Wrong, Jerry Politex
New Bank Accounting "Fiction" Further Weakens Credibility of Financial Institutions, NYT
Bush, Obama? What's The Diff? Taxpayers Screwed, Wealthy Rewarded, Politex and Stiglitz
G-20: Obama Uses Peacemake Skills to Bring France, China Together, Jake Tapper
Economic Theories of Reagan Through Obama Lead To Crime, Blight, Ruined Lives , NYT
Krugman vs. Obama. Who's Right?, Evan Thomas, Newsweek
Reagan, Both Bush's, Clinton, Obama "Securitization" Invites "Frauds", Krugman
Obama Toxic Plan Announced, Alternative Questioned, Politex
What in the World is Wrong With Obama?
Axis of Error: Obama, Geithner Join the Zombies, Stiff Taxpayers, by Paul Krugman
Obama's Scorpions May Lead To His Defeat in 2012
Why Obama May Be A One-Term President, Politex and Kuttner
First Fifty Days: Obama Changes 25 Bush Policies
Obama Failing: Stimulus Plan Too Small, Too Cautious, by Paul Krugman
Obama's Cheneys: They Pretend Zombies Don't Exist, by Paul Krugman
Who is Killing the United States? by Jerry Politex
Are You Ready For The Second Great Depression? (Part 1), Jerry Politex
Addendum to Pt.1: Mr. O Has Not Learned From His Economic Blunder, Krugman
Are You Ready For The Second Great Depression? (Part 2), Jerry Politex
America in Denial Re Depression, Frank Rich
Obama Doesn't Want To Give Up Dictator Bush's Powers, Jerry Politex
Staggering Towards Depression
SPIEGEL: Many people are comparing the financial crisis to the Great Depression. Will it really be that bad?
Stiglitz: It's going to be bad, very bad. We're experiencing the worst downturn since the Great Depression, and we haven't reached the bottom yet. I'm very pessimistic. Governments are indeed reacting better today than during the global economic crisis. They're lowering interest rates and boosting the economy with economic stimulus plans. This is the right direction, but it's not enough.
SPIEGEL: The American government has committed over a trillion dollars to save the banks and $789 billion to boost the economy. Do you think this is too little?
Stiglitz: I do. More than $700 billion sounds like a lot, but it's not. On the one hand, a large part of the money will first be given out next year, which is too late. On the other, a third of it is drained away by tax cuts. They don't really stimulate consumption, because people will save the majority of that money. I fear that the effect of the American economic stimulus plan won't be even half as big as expected.
SPIEGEL: [As for saving the banks,] what do you suggest?
Stiglitz: We have to reorganize our bailout system for the financial sector. For one thing, any bank that actually lends should get money from the government; more money to small and medium-sized banks in smaller towns and less to Wall Street institutions. The government must also accept the consequences when banks become insolvent ...
SPIEGEL: … and let them go bankrupt?
Stiglitz: No, they have to be saved, because the consequences to the monetary system would be incalculable. But as a countermeasure, these institutions have to be nationalized, which even Alan Greenspan is now demanding. Then the government can close those business segments that have nothing to do with lending and make sure that the banks no longer organize esoteric stock deals that they themselves do not understand. --read more of the interview with Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz
Daddy Always Loved You Best
In the paraphrased words of Jackie Gleason, "How sick it is!" Politicians representing states serving the auto industry are complaining that Daddy O showed tough love to GM and Chryser, while letting even more culpable corps like Citigroup off the hook. While it is true that the upper management of AIG, Fannie, and Freddie felt Daddy's ax, that was after bailout dough was given. Daddy says things will change in late April, once the stress tests are completed and the zombie banks are found to be without a pulse. We'll see. Meanwhile, Citigroup (when a "bank" becomes a "group," thanks to a bill by McCain eonomist Phil Gramm and a signature by Clinton, many controls go out the window) has gotten three infusions of taxpayer blood since October, and still no new CEO. That's because there's a "paucity of candidates" to replace him, sources say. Oh, so he's irreplaceable, like the "groups" are too big to fail? Replace failed CEO's, split up the "groups" into banks and insurance companies, and repeal the Gramm/Clinton bill that helped to got us into this mess in the first place. Meanwhile, Robert Gibbs, Daddy's Press Secretary, explained Daddy's love: "Pressed repeatedly to explain why [GM's] Wagoner was told to go but bank CEOs were not -- or, for that matter, why labor contracts for auto-workers were reworked when it was deemed illegal to revamp bonus contracts for AIG execs -- he declared a 'hesitancy' to 'look at every entity the same way.'" (HuffPost). After dismissing one reporter's question as "non-specific," then saying he didn't have specifics to answer other specific questions, a long explanation of the Detroit/Wall Street difference led one reporter to mutter, "that made absolutely no sense." The answer is pretty simple: they make things in Detroit, which has little to do with the fradulent activities that have been happening on Wall Street. We don't make things in the U.S. any more, we fashion con games that take people's money. --Politex
The GOP Fudget, etc.: 'Happy Hour at the Chuckle Hut'
Yesterday Rep. John Boner released the Republican answer to Obama's budget, and teachers at the press conference give its beautiful blue cover an A+. Unfortunately, the GOP Fudget was only 19 pages long, contained nothing but vague generalities, and had no numbers. Reporters in attendance were very disappointed, having been promised a budget, not a fudget. Said one: "There's one more picture of a windmill than there are charts of numbers. And there's exactly one picture of a windmill." In other Republican non-news, RNC's head, Michael Steele, 'the Inspector Clouseau of American politics,' claims that his Limbaugh attack and backtrack was faked for strategic purposes, and he's waiting for God to tell him if he should run for President.
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100+ More Today's Stories
Economic Theories of Reagan Through Obama Lead To Crime, Blight, Ruined Lives, NYT
Krugman vs. Obama. Who's Right?, Evan Thomas, Newsweek
Reagan, Both Bush's, Clinton, Obama "Securitization" Invites "Frauds", Krugman
Obama Toxic Plan Announced, Alternative Questioned, Politex
Here's Krugman's response:
What in the World is Wrong With Obama? Politex, etc.
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