Friedman Foolery

[marmar]

from the Working Life blog:



Friedman Foolery

by Jonathan Tasini
Thursday 28 of July, 2011


My friends say, correctly, that I should not waste my time reading Tom Friedman. Yes, true. But, I dipped into his moronic column yesterday mainly because it's in the same non-reality based theme that is a plague everywhere--we need "shared sacrifice" to make the cuts "needed". Spare me.

Dumb stuff:

Yes, we have developed such a formula over the course of American history, and it is built on five basic pillars: educating the work force up to and beyond whatever technology demands; building the world’s best infrastructure of ports, roads and telecommunications; attracting the world’s most dynamic and high-I.Q. immigrants to enrich our universities and start new businesses; putting together the best regulations to incentivize risk-taking while curbing recklessness (not always perfectly); and funding research to push out the boundaries of science and then let American innovators and venture capitalists pluck off the most promising new ideas for new business.

Uh...and where does he put restraining corporate greed, raising wages and junking the bankrupt "free market"...Oooppsss, not to be discussed.

It gets worse:

That is why we need to raise new tax revenues as well — so we can simultaneously shrink the entitlements programs, but still keep them viable, and generate the funds needed to strengthen all five parts of our growth formula. Anyone who says that either entitlement reform or tax increases are off the table does not have a plan for sustaining American greatness and passing on the American dream to the next generation.

Really? So, the Serious People say that you and I are not serious if we aren't willing to cut entitlements. What nonsense.


http://www.workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?content_id=15248