Sincere apologies. I just realized I just sent you the wrong email. Here's the real deal Ed From: John Jones [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 11:14 PM
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/the-years-of-shame/ <http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/> Paul Krugman - New York Times Blog September 11, 2011, 8:41 AM The Years of Shame Is it just me, or are the 9/11 commemorations oddly subdued? Actually, I dont think its me, and its not really that odd. What happened after 9/11 and I think even people on the right know this, whether they admit it or not was deeply shameful. The atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror. And then the attack was used to justify an unrelated war the neocons wanted to fight, for all the wrong reasons. A lot of other people behaved badly. How many of our professional pundits people who should have understood very well what was happening took the easy way out, turning a blind eye to the corruption and lending their support to the hijacking of the atrocity? The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it. Im not going to allow comments on this post, for obvious reasons. _____ http://www.laprogressive.com/economic-equality/american-jobs-act/?utm_source =LAProgressiveNewsletter <http://www.laprogressive.com/economic-equality/american-jobs-act/?utm_sourc e=LAProgressiveNewsletter&utm_campaign=ede42c1e67-LAP_News_19_July_2011_Live 7_18_2011&utm_medium=email> &utm_campaign=ede42c1e67-LAP_News_19_July_2011_Live7_18_2011&utm_medium=emai l Two Cheers and One Jeer for the American Jobs Act September 9, 2011 By Robert <http://www.laprogressive.com/author/robert-reich/> Reich Two cheers for the President and his Americas Jobs Act. Cheer Number One: In presenting it to a joint session of Congress, he sounded as passionate and determined as hes ever sounded. Second cheer: He laid out the problem correctly and effectively. He explained why jobs and growth must be the nations first priority now not the federal deficit. The economy is in crisis. People are hurting. So government must act, and act quickly. Its irresponsible at a time like this to suggest that government should simply close down. But a jeer because the jobs plan he presented isnt nearly large enough or bold enough to make a major dent in unemployment, or to restart the economy. $450 billion sounds like a lot and is more than I expected but some of this merely extends current spending (unemployment benefits) and tax cuts (in Social Security taxes), so it doesnt add to aggregate demand. The net new boost to the economy is closer to $300 billion. That doesnt approach even half the gap between what the economy is now producing and what it could produce at or near full employment. And much that $300 billion is in the form of temporary tax cuts to individuals and companies. Some of these make sense enlarging the Social Security tax cut, extending it to employers, and giving small businesses a tax holiday for new hires. But temporary tax cuts havent proven to be particularly effective in stimulating new spending in times of economic stress. People tend to use them to pay off debts or increase savings. Companies use them to reduce costs, but they wont make additional hires unless they expect additional sales which wont occur unless consumers increase their spending. That leaves some $140 billion for infrastructure improving outworn school buildings, roads, bridges, ports, and so on. And $35 billion to help cash-starved states avoid more layoffs teachers. Both good and important but still small relative to the overall need. Why did the President include so many tax cuts, and why didnt he make his proposal sufficiently large to make a real impact on jobs and growth? Because he crafted it in order to appeal to Republicans. To get it enacted, he needs their votes. Im having a dizzying sense of déjà vu. The first $800 billion stimulus (spread over two years) wasnt nearly large enough given the drop in aggregate demand. And half of it was in the form of tax cuts. The reason it wasnt bigger and contained so many tax cuts was to get Republican votes. But its apparent ineffectiveness it saved around 3 million jobs, but that didnt save it from appearing to fail made it harder for the White House to do anything more to stimulate the economy, and ward off whats likely to be a double dip. Thats been the heart of Obamas dilemma. Big and bold enough to make a difference, and Republicans are certain to reject it. Small and focused on tax cuts, and maybe Republicans will bite. But even if they sign on, whats the point of the exercise if it wont have a measurable effect on jobs and growth? And why would they sign on this time, anyway? Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell scoffs This isnt a job plan. Its a reelection plan. Thats precisely the problem. McConnell and company have stated publicly that their number-one objective is to unseat Obama and regain the presidency in 2012. They dont want to give the President anything he could possibly claim as a victory. And theyre not terribly worried if the economy stays awful through Election Day because thats the best way to fulfill their number-one objective. The President would have done better with a plan that was big enough to make a real difference. And then, when Republicans rejected it, campaign on it. So two cheers for both the Presidents style and his words. And one jeer: He failed on substance and strategy. Robert Reich <http://robertreich.org/> Robert Reichs Blog [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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