The evidence is pretty compelling that the opposition party just doesn't comprehend the economic trouble the US is in.
What are we left with? Republicans are pushing the same tax cuts they wanted before the recession. They're making the same arguments about spending they offered before the recession. They're engaged in the same petty games they enjoyed before the recession. In the midst of "an all-hands-on-deck emergency that's as trying as war," and in "the throes of a catastrophic economic crisis," the failed minority party, ignoring the election results, public opinion, and everything we know about economics, have the same approach to the economy that they had at this point a year ago. And the year before that. And the year before that.
And BTW, there are indeed people who think our president is failing to fix the economy in a timely manner. Only 2% of Americans share this view. The great majority have more patience.
Jon Stewart of The Daily Show does an absolutely classic smackdown of the financial channel CNBC. The takeaway from this is that the financial advice you get from these guys is about as good as what you'll get from any good astrologer or standard political pundit.
Economist Dean Baker agrees with Stewart. The ups and downs of the stock market tells us nothing useful or serious.
Update: House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), acknowledges the severity of the economic situation and the horrific drop in employment, BUT advocates a "spending freeze," the precise opposite of what needs to happen. NY Times columnist Paul Krugman:
"I'm shocked by the total intellectual collapse of the Republican Party in the face of this economic crisis.... I'd really like to see some genuine bipartisanship in America. But that can't happen until we start having at least somewhat sane partisans."
No comments:
Post a Comment