One lesson from recent economic troubles has been the usefulness of history. Just as the crisis was unfolding, the Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff - who unfortunately became famous for their worst work - published a brilliant book with the sarcastic title “This Time Is Different.” Their point, of course, was that there is a ( Read more... )

Panic of the Plutocrats
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: October 9, 2011

SOURCEIt remains to be seen whether the Occupy Wall Street protests will change America’s direction. Yet the protests have already elicited a remarkably hysterical reaction from Wall Street, the super-rich in general, and politicians and pundits who reliably serve the interests of ( Read more... )

Paul Krugman is a Political Rookie. Or How Barack Obama Left John Boehner Holding the Teabag, Again.

Monday, August 01, 2011 | Posted by Deaniac83 at 6:45 AM


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A deal to raise the federal debt ceiling is in the works. If it goes through, many commentators will declare that disaster was avoided. But they will be wrong.

For the deal itself, given the available information, is a disaster, and not just for President Obama and his party. It will damage an already depressed economy; it will probably make America ( Read more... )

From Paul Krugman's NYT blog:

"I’m in an airport lounge, for my sins, and there’s no avoiding the TV running CNN. And there’s David Gergen, telling me that the Ryan plan, whatever its flaws, is “serious”. So I guess that’s the Very Serious People line.

James Fallows has a very good take on this; my version would be this: I don’t think a budget ( Read more... )

Published: September 23, 2010 ( Read more... )

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The Flimflam Man

by Paul Krugman

The Beltway crowd gets fooled again, this time by Representative Paul Ryan’s plan for a major overhaul of federal spending and taxes.

( 'audacity of dopes', LOLOLOL )

Republicans and Medicare
“Don’t cut Medicare. The reform bills passed by the House and Senate cut Medicare by approximately $500 billion. This is wrong.” So declared Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, in a recent op-ed article written with John Goodman, the president of the National Center for Policy Analysis ( Read more... )

Pass the Bill

A message to progressives: By all means, hang Senator Joe Lieberman in effigy. Declare that you’re disappointed in and/or disgusted with President Obama. Demand a change in Senate rules that, combined with the Republican strategy of total obstructionism, are in the process of making America ungovernable.

But meanwhile, pass the ( Read more... )