Krugman: So, was this worth it? I’d still say no...better than what I expected over the weekend

[CreekDog]

Since I've seen a lot of Krugman quotes, I think leaving out his overall conclusion while including that it's not as bad as he thought is a bit misleading.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/the-deal/

December 7, 2010, 7:45 am
The Deal

So the tax deal is out. Obama extracted some concessions, with the big surprise being a payroll tax cut. How much better do these concessions make the thing?

Well, for starters we have the two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts. As I pointed out yesterday, the CBO estimated that such an extension would reduce unemployment relative to what it would have been otherwise by 0.1 to 0.3 percentage points in 2011, twice that in 2012.

To this, the deal added $120 billion in a payroll tax cut; $56 billion in extended unemployment benefits; about $40 billion in extension of other tax credit.

...

Both the payroll tax break and the unemployment extension are for the first year only. So, a bigger boost next year, fading out in 2012.

...

Oh, and he’s overpromising again:

“It’s not perfect, but this compromise is an essential step on the road to recovery,” Mr. Obama said. “It will stop middle-class taxes from going up. It will spur our private sector to create millions of new jobs, and add momentum that our economy badly needs.”

Millions of new jobs? Millions? Not by my arithmetic.

So, was this worth it? I’d still say no, although it’s better than what I expected over the weekend. It still greatly increases the chances of the Bush tax cuts being made permanent — especially because the front-loading of the stimulative stuff actually worsens Obama’s 2012 electoral prospects.

Overall, enough sweetener has been added to diminish, but not eliminate, the bitterness of the disappointment.

[ProSense]

1. "it's not as bad as he thought is a bit misleading"

Krugman: "it’s better than what I expected over the weekend"

"enough sweetener has been added to diminish, but not eliminate, the bitterness of the disappointment"


Where is the misleading interpretation?

[CreekDog]

3. leaving out his "Was it worth it" and answer which was in the same sentence!

are you a spinmaster?

the other answer is that you aren't intelligent enough to know the difference.

[ProSense]

4. So he says it's still isn't worth it

How is it misleading that he said it's "better" than he expected and that "enough" sweeter was added to diminish the disappointment?

[Jakes Progress]

5. It's not hard to understand.

Try this. It's like giving you a nice last meal before you are shot. It's nice not to be shot while hungry, but you are still being shot. You are right. We didn't get beaten with a blunt instrument for an hour before being shot. We got a nice meal. But we are being shot and no amount of happy talk will fix that. Being optimistic is one thing. Realizing that the clicking sound you hear isn't the ice cubes being dropped in your drink but the bullets being put in the chamber is another.

[CreekDog]

7. I'll leave it there.

.

[CreekDog]

6. He said it wasn't worth it BEFORE he wrote the part about sweetener

Let me help you stop dissembling:

"So, was this worth it? I’d still say no, although it’s better than what I expected over the weekend. It still greatly increases the chances of the Bush tax cuts being made permanent — especially because the front-loading of the stimulative stuff actually worsens Obama’s 2012 electoral prospects.

Overall, enough sweetener has been added to diminish, but not eliminate, the bitterness of the disappointment."

-----

you'll say anything to to try convince people and it's clear anything includes misleading them if it suits your ends.

[xchrom]

2. I'd still say know too - but moderates with no Nobel prize

Or real experience thinking about these things tell me I'm wrong.