Paul Krugman: How to Kill a Recovery

[spanone]

....The clear and present danger to recovery, however, comes from politics — specifically, the demand from House Republicans that the government immediately slash spending on infant nutrition, disease control, clean water and more. Quite aside from their negative long-run consequences, these cuts would lead, directly and indirectly, to the elimination of hundreds of thousands of jobs — and this could short-circuit the virtuous circle of rising incomes and improving finances.

Of course, Republicans believe, or at least pretend to believe, that the direct job-destroying effects of their proposals would be more than offset by a rise in business confidence. As I like to put it, they believe that the Confidence Fairy will make everything all right.

But there’s no reason for the rest of us to share that belief. For one thing, it’s hard to see how such an obviously irresponsible plan — since when does starving the I.R.S. for funds help reduce the deficit? — can improve confidence.

Beyond that, we have a lot of evidence from other countries about the prospects for “expansionary austerity” — and that evidence is all negative. Last October, a comprehensive study by the International Monetary Fund concluded that “the idea that fiscal austerity stimulates economic activity in the short term finds little support in the data.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/opinion/04krugman.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

[Amonester]

1. Repugnants Don't Care About Any Recovery.

All these bastards care about is how many jobs they will have to destroy in order for Obama to become unpopular enough, so he will NOT get a second term.

That. Is. All. they. Care. About.

Even Krugman should see them as who they really are... When was the last time they did something for others than themselves?

[Caliman73]

5. While I agree about the Obama thing

Ultimately the leaders of the Republican party care much more deeply about one thing than any other. That is in the accumulation of wealth and power into the hands of the corporate and moneyed interests. They want to be the benefactors of patronage and assume basically indefinite power. Taking out the Democratic party including Obama would aid in that process, but I don't think that his demise is their overarching concern. If he joins them, then they would be fine. Obama, as much as he has disappointed with his concessions to the wealthy, has not completely allowed the corporations to have free reign. I don' think that they would care one lick about his birth certificate or race if he came out and started allowing their policies wholesale. Politics mean less to them than getting their kickbacks. They are all just a bunch of grifters.

[babylonsister]

2. NYT-lots of exposure-priceless! nt

[TwilightGardener]

3. They WANT to kill the recovery. It wouldn't be an unintentional result.

[aquart]

4. I assumed that was the goal.

[xchrom]

6. Recommend

[JDPriestly]

7. The Republicans are following in the footsteps of Herbert Hoover

Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body - the producers and consumers themselves.
Herbert Hoover

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/herbert_hoover.html#ixzz1FcWhyBYk

We know how the Hoover presidency ended.

You'd think that Republicans would have learned from Hoover's mistakes, wouldn't you?

[Demeter]

8. What Recovery?

Since there is no recovery to kill, as evidenced by the complete lack of jobs, this merely is killing the social net that keeps us from nation-wide Egypt-following.

[spanone]

9. 192,000 jobs in feb....

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/business/economy/05jobs.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

[Demeter]

10. WITH 20 MILLION UNEMPLOYED OR UNDEREMPLOYED

I am underwhelmed.

[spanone]

11. underwhelmed or not it's a positive move.

[Demeter]

12. Did you happen to see the breakdown

and how many of those "jobs" are temporary? Don't count chickens when all you see are broken shells.