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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPaul Krugman: California proves the GOP’s “extremist ideology … is nonsense”
Source: Salon
In his latest column for the New York Times, award-winning economist and best-selling author Paul Krugman argues that Californias recent success and Kansas ongoing failure is yet more proof that conservative anti-tax dogma is nonsense.
After citing Justice Brandeis famous claim that Americas states are laboratories for democracy, Krugman turns to compare and contrast California and Kansas, noting that while the former state has seen economic growth and a successful implementation of Obamacare, the latter has had a stagnant economy and a ballooning deficit.
Not incidentally, these states decided to take opposite approaches to economic policy, with California embracing a modestly liberal agenda of higher taxes, spending increases and a rise in the minimum wage while Kansas went all-in on supply-side economics, slashing taxes on the affluent only to see paltry growth and a darkening fiscal picture.
If tax increases are causing a major flight of jobs from California, you cant see it in the job numbers, Krugman writes. Employment is up 3.6 percent in the past 18 months, compared with a national average of 2.8 percent; at this point, Californias share of national employment, which was hit hard by the bursting of the states enormous housing bubble, is back to pre-recession levels.
more: http://www.salon.com/2014/07/25/paul_krugman_california_proves_the_gops_extremist_ideology_is_nonsense/
Martin Eden
(12,864 posts)... then the Democratic Party is either clueless or complicit.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)You don't get to the national level without a lot of help from your "friends".
ieoeja
(9,748 posts)Fox News and Hate Radio couple total outstanding debt with old deficit numbers for California. Republicans repeat those numbers.
Do not be surprised at all if the Republicans take this advice and make the election about those two states. Because they know an extremely large percentage believe the factoids provided by the Fair and Balanced media.
And it isn't just Teabaggers. I know plenty of people who reason that Fox News could not possibly be lying all the time. When someone on ABC, CBS or NBC gets a news story wrong, they lose their job. Fox News is not firing people, therefore they must not be lying.
Ishoutandscream2
(6,661 posts)And the facts come from unbiased sources. Nevertheless, they poo-poo the facts because they come from the "librul media". Only Fox and talk radio state the real facts!
Auggie
(31,167 posts)they're pretty silent.
I've been at a loss to understand the reasoning.
SleeplessinSoCal
(9,112 posts)Sitting here in CA we hear very little in the media of Jerry Brown. He's like the invisible man. Apparently he's just stealth because Gavin Newsom, his Lt. Governor, has nothing to do and has come up with his own theories in his free time a la "Citizenville".
http://citizenville.com/
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)But he's just another billionaire who hates poor people.
SleeplessinSoCal
(9,112 posts)That's the only way Republicans can ever win the White House again. (well that and preventing the "47%" from voting" .