Friday, May 1, 2015

Paul Krugman, "Ideology and Integrity": Obamacare Is a Success?

In a New York Times op-ed entitled "Ideology and Integrity," Paul Krugman tells us that the 2016 US presidential election "should turn almost entirely on the issues," but "intellectual integrity" should also matter. Regarding Hillary, Krugman writes:

"The press, I’m sorry to say, tends to punish open-mindedness, because gotcha journalism is easier and safer than policy analysis. Hillary Clinton supported trade agreements in the 1990s, but now she’s critical. It’s a flip-flop! Or, possibly, a case of learning from experience, which is something we should praise, not deride."

Of course, no mention by Krugman of issues of "intellectual integrity" arising from the management and conduct of the Clinton Foundation, or Hillary's refusal to answer questions regarding Uranium One.

Instead, Krugman would have us examine the positions of Republican presidential candidates, who have yet to flip-flop on Obamacare:

"Meanwhile, as far as I can tell no important Republican figure has admitted that none of the terrible consequences that were supposed to follow health reform — mass cancellation of existing policies, soaring premiums, job destruction — has actually happened."

Ah yes, that remarkable revolution in American health care. Needless to say, Krugman makes no reference to a lead article in today's Washington Post by Lena H. Sun and Niraj Chokshi, whose title "Nearly half of Obamacare exchanges are struggling over their future" speaks for itself.

And as long as we're talking about intellectual integrity, I'm still waiting for Krugman to explain away his declaration in an October 6, 2011 Times op-ed entitled "Confronting the Malefactors":

"Occupy Wall Street is starting to look like an important event that might even eventually be seen as a turning point.

. . . .

It’s clear what kinds of things the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators want, and it’s really the job of policy intellectuals and politicians to fill in the details."

Sorry, Paul, but "intellectual integrity" in politics and journalism ceased to exist many, many years ago.

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