Monday, September 24, 2012

Paul Krugman, "The Optimism Cure": It Beats Keynes Hands-Down

"In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again."

- Chance the Gardener, "Being There"

I'm no more fond of Keynes than I am of trickle-down economics. Rather, I believe in Chance the Gardener's school of thought, i.e. after winter comes the spring, unless, of course, the US government is foolish enough to listen to Paul Krugman. If the decision is taken to spend trillions of additional dollars on pork barrel stimulation, overseen by bureaucrats in Washington, and having no sustainable benefit, America will be brought to its knees.

In his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "The Optimism Cure" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/opinion/krugman-the-optimism-cure.html?_r=1), Krugman whines about Romney's "substance-free" economic plan. Of course, Krugman is correct, but then where is the Obama plan?

Krugman concludes:

"Yet the truth is that it all fits together. Mr. Romney’s whole campaign has been based on the premise that he can become president simply by not being Barack Obama. Why shouldn’t he believe that he can fix the economy the same way?"

But in fact, Romney and Obama are remarkably similar: Neither is offering economic guidance, and both are saying, "Believe in me."

Welcome to the dawn of a new narcissistic age.

In fact, no matter who is elected, we are apt to see improvement in the spring . . . provided that Krugman is ignored.

1 comment:

  1. I said it before and I'll just repeat briefly.
    The problem is deep and the country is in trouble. Decades of arrogance, ignorance and greed brought us where we're are now. Instead of marching with slogans "we're the best and the brightest," "we're rich, we're smart," Americans should have listened and studied.
    Among other things, they should have checked what ancient Middle East countries knew about societies (a lot, a lot) and why Europeans did what they after 1945.
    If I understand it correctly, this society isn't reformable, the problem isn't reversible.
    I guess I am saying that only collapse is possible.
    Krugman possibly understands this (and he cares), Obama possibly understands this (but he couldn't care less), Romney possibly doesn't understand (and he couldn't care less)
    The only question I have: "in which way this country will collapse?"

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