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| Economy |
| Krugman Tells Obama: DON'T MAKE A DEAL |
| 2012-11-10 |
| In his brand new op-ed at the NYT, Paul Krugman makes the loudest case yet that Obama shouldn't rush into any kind of big "deal" with the GOP on averting the fiscal cliff. Liberals have been going in this direction for awhile, arguing two things: Hitting the fiscal cliff would not be a huge catastrophe right away, and the GOP has lost a lot of leverage, so there's no reason to cave to their insistence on everything. So Krugman tells Obama not to reach his hand out to far: In saying this, I don’t mean to minimize the very real economic dangers posed by the so-called fiscal cliff that is looming at the end of this year if the two parties can’t reach a deal. Both the Bush-era tax cuts and the Obama administration’s payroll tax cut are set to expire, even as automatic spending cuts in defense and elsewhere kick in thanks to the deal struck after the 2011 confrontation over the debt ceiling. And the looming combination of tax increases and spending cuts looks easily large enough to push America back into recession. Nobody wants to see that happen. Yet it may happen all the same, and Mr. Obama has to be willing to let it happen if necessary. Why? Because Republicans are trying, for the third time since he took office, to use economic blackmail to achieve a goal they lack the votes to achieve through the normal legislative process. In particular, they want to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, even though the nation can’t afford to make those tax cuts permanent and the public believes that taxes on the rich should go up — and they’re threatening to block any deal on anything else unless they get their way. So they are, in effect, threatening to tank the economy unless their demands are met. Krugman then goes on to make a very critical point, which is that there's no really a "cliff." |
| Posted by:Au Auric |
| #7 They were real doctors, John QC. Obama's people gave every one a white coat.That's how good they are at the visuals of politics. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2012-11-10 18:08 |
| #6 Obama surrounded himself with Middle Class Americans at his news conference the other day. I started having deja vous all over again. I recall that prior to our getted hosed with ObamaCare, he surrounded himself with a bunch of phony doctors in white coats. That is usually a prelude to being |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-11-10 18:03 |
| #5 For once I'm in full agreement with the Krugmaniac. 60 million pseudo-Americans, plus the several million who should have known better but stayed home and denied the good guys their votes, have |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2012-11-10 13:13 |
| #4 He's waiting for the aliens to break enough stuff to make socialism work. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-11-10 11:39 |
| #3 Dear Leader does not like those who disagree with him. Sometimes he even jugs some poor schlump for making bad films. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-11-10 07:38 |
| #2 Watch you Kenyan puppet closely Mr. Krugman, you may soon have a control problem. His deep seated hatred will cause him to dispise the Hora and inevitably turn on you and your entire Moravian cabol. He dances to a far different drumbeat. Brilliantly executed plan however, I must hand it to you. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-11-10 03:21 |
| #1 Krugman -- give it up --- Obama doesn't listen to anyone, including you.... just his own, inner, smartest man in the world voice... And let's hear your words, when even the NYTimes decides it can't afford the insurance premiums it is paying for you, thus, takes the Fed's penalty, and each according to his need, you must fork over 7% of your gross income (yes, I know what that means), to pay for your insurance. But then, prolly, you'll get a waiver from Obama. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2012-11-10 00:37 |