STIGLITZ: Compared to Bush - Obama Gets An A+ On The Economy

[kpete]

Love him or hate him (and based on some recent appearances, notably side by side Hugh Hendry, he hasn't left much room for amorous intentions), Joe Stiglitz once again takes center stage, this time in this appearance at the Commenwealth Club, in which he discusses various things (among which are his grading of Obama, which compared to Dubya' administration, he gives an A+, and since this is roughly in line with where the rating agencies rate the US, it should raise all sorts of red flags). One of the key topics of discussion is his claim that efficient markets are a myth, and that Adam Smith's "invisible hand" appears as such because it was never truly there. Joe's bashing of economists with their hollow goal-seeked theories is one thing we can certainly agree with, and as to the market being propped by visible hands and other means, well, that is beyond the scope of this post (unless Chairman Shalom decides to grace the comment stream with his presence).

Relevant Stiglitz clip below, and the entire hour + long program can be found here. http://fora.tv/2010/02/22/Joseph_Stiglitz_Freefall#Stiglitz_Gives_Obamas_Economy_an_A_Compared_to_Bush
(we recommend watching the full thing, as some rather good ideas are presented)

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/joe-stiglitz-slaps-invisible-hand

[jody]

1. That wasn't hard given Dubya's F- - - - - - - - - - n/t

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. Compared to Bush - my vacuum cleaner gets an A+ on the economy.

When you continually compare Obama to the low standards set by Bush, don't be surprised if the "winner" still looks like poop. People who routinely make comparisons to dimunitive competing policies do nothing but embrace the mediocrity of the two-party system - the same two party system whose compromises have gutted this nation for the last 50 years.

The question is not whether Obama is better than Dubya (that ought to be a foregone conclusion)...
The question is does Obama, as a politician, sucessfully represent The People and live up to thier expectaions.
The People, after all, elected him.