KRUGMAN'S Seal Of Approval: "Obama’s hair may not be on fire, but it’s definitely smoking"

[kpete]

P-ED COLUMNIST
Setting Their Hair on Fire
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: September 8, 2011



First things first: I was favorably surprised by the new Obama jobs plan, which is significantly bolder and better than I expected. It’s not nearly as bold as the plan I’d want in an ideal world. But if it actually became law, it would probably make a significant dent in unemployment.


...............

Still, the plan would be a lot better than nothing, and some of its measures, which are specifically aimed at providing incentives for hiring, might produce relatively a large employment bang for the buck. As I said, it’s much bolder and better than I expected. President Obama’s hair may not be on fire, but it’s definitely smoking; clearly and gratifyingly, he does grasp how desperate the jobs situation is.

But his plan isn’t likely to become law, thanks to Republican opposition. And it’s worth noting just how much that opposition has hardened over time, even as the plight of the unemployed has worsened.

...............

The good news in all this is that by going bigger and bolder than expected, Mr. Obama may finally have set the stage for a political debate about job creation. For, in the end, nothing will be done until the American people demand action.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/opinion/setting-their-hair-on-fire.html?_r=2&src=tp

[Tippy]

1. K&R.......

[Greybnk48]

2. K&R. Pass the Bill! n/t

[Hotler]

3. Nothing is going to start to change until...

thousands take to streets in protest and strikes. For, in the end, nothing will be done until the American people demand action.

[madrchsod]

4. i agree with krugman...

obama should have doubled that amount to get what he proposed last night.

[dawg]

5. For the most part, I agree with Paul Krugman here ....

There are some good things in this proposal. They would help with employment.

And, personally, I have no problem with the payroll tax cut. I have never bought into the notion that it somehow harms the Social Security trust fund. The cuts are taken from general revenues, not the trust fund.

In fact, payroll tax cuts are probably the most stimulative tax cuts of all.

My biggest problem is that the President is calling on Congress to find offsetting cuts to "pay" for the stimulus.

[chill_wind]

6. The frequent "Hair on Fire" reference is not about his speech, but regarding the Fed

"So how should the Fed be reacting? Mr. Evans: “Imagine that inflation was running at 5 percent against our inflation objective of 2 percent. Is there a doubt that any central banker worth their salt would be reacting strongly to fight this high inflation rate? No, there isn’t any doubt. They would be acting as if their hair was on fire. We should be similarly energized about improving conditions in the labor market.”

But the Fed’s hair is manifestly not on fire, nor do most politicians seem to see any urgency about the situation. These days, the best — or at any rate the alleged wise men and women who are supposed to be looking after the nation’s welfare — lack all conviction, while the worst, as represented by much of the G.O.P., are filled with a passionate intensity. So the unemployed are being abandoned."

[wtmusic]

7. IMO the criticism of Obama's cave on the debt limit stung

and he's realizing he's going to have to take a stand on something if he's going to get re-elected.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

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[HappyMe]

9. Pass the Bill! k&r

[Zorra]

10. "his plan isn’t likely to become law"

Another repercussion of the Democratic Senate failing to have the foresight to end the filibuster from the get go.

I really have a hard time understanding why they did not do this, because it was so clear to me and so many others here right from the beginning that the republicans were going to obstruct the Dem majority in every way possible in order to make Dems ineffective at policy making, a win-win for the GOP because not only dis Democrats not get much done, they also lost the respect of many voters, and this was a primary cause for the huge loss of seats in the House and Dems almost losing the Senate.

Now Dems are basically just lame ducks, except that they have smaller spine.

Although I'm not really sure who and what Obama is as far as his Democratic party ideology goes, there is no doubt that if he indeed had good intentions, Reid and the crew made damn sure he would never get anything productive done, either deliberately, because so many only represent wealthy private interests, or through sheer inexcusable stupidity and/or naivete.

For what it's worth, I'm going to vote a straight Democratic ticket. But I fear that it is too late now, unless Obama pulls off some ingenious progressive miracle, but it doesn't seem to me that he's all that interested in promoting progressive policy that effects major change.

"Make hay while the sun shines" is an old, old farmer's expression. Dems negligently failed to bale up the hay while the sun was shining, and so, naturally, it got rained on, and it spoiled in the field.

Now, barring a progressive policy miracle, they're going to have to sell our farm.

[Larkspur]

11. Gee, Krugman praising Obama on rational grounds

Wonder how Obama-bots like the taste of crow.

[joeybee12]

12. Krugman sounds like DU today...

Another pretty speech and they think something has changed...wait until whatever passes is "the best we could have done."