Paul Krugman, "Who’s Very Important?": Class Warfare Without Solutions

The 2012 presidential election is becoming an ugly mud slinging match between two candidates bereft of ideas intended to free the US from the economic muck in which it is mired.

In his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Who’s Very Important?" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/opinion/krugman-whos-very-important.html), Paul Krugman would have us believe that the Romney candidacy is all about the "superrich" seeking to establish control over America. Krugman begins his opinion piece by observing:

"'Is there a V.I.P. entrance? We are V.I.P.' That remark, by a donor waiting to get in to one of Mitt Romney’s recent fund-raisers in the Hamptons, pretty much sums up the attitude of America’s wealthy elite. Mr. Romney’s base — never mind the top 1 percent, we’re talking about the top 0.01 percent or higher — is composed of very self-important people."

Oh, those snotty Republican rich people! And I might even buy into this fantasy were it not for the recent $80,000 a plate fundraiser at Jessica Parker's Manhattan penthouse, arranged with the able assistance of Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour. Vogue? Surely you recall Vogue's enchanting 2011 profile of Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad, entitled “A Rose in the Desert,” which was published at a time when the Assads had already begun slaughtering Syria's citizenry. As stated by this sycophantic article, "The household is run on wildly democratic principles. 'We all vote on what we want, and where,' [Asma] says."

As for Anna Wintour, who is said to be worth $35 million (see: http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/designers/anna-wintour-net-worth/), there is speculation that she will be named the next US ambassador to England, owing to the enormity of the funds she has raised for Obama. If so, she will replace Louis Susman, "a retired vice-president of Citigroup, whose fund-raising abilities during Obama’s 2008 campaign earned him the nickname 'the vacuum cleaner'" (see: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2012/06/anna-wintour-angling-for-an-ambassador-post.html).

And let's not forget that May shindig for Obama arranged by George Clooney at his California home, which raised some $15 million. Almost everyone in attendance paid $40,000 each for dinner with a few exceptions. As observed by The Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304543904577397330920533806.html):

"But the Obama campaign raised millions more online by raffling off two free tickets to the dinner. The winners were Beth Topinka, a New Jersey science teacher, and Karen Blutcher, a Florida utility company employee. Both women came with their husbands. The two couples sat toward the rear of the tent."

Sorry, Paul, but the stench of the moneyed attempting to influence November's outcome wafts from both sides of the aisle.

If only either candidate could proffer a viable program for achieving US energy independence over the next four years. Yes, it can be done and at the same time create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

If only either candidate would be willing to reinstate the Uptick Rule and reenact Glass-Steagall, providing the US economy with an instant burst of renewal.

However, this is not meant to be. Obama loyalists, such as Paul Krugman, would prefer to depict the election as a contest between rich and poor, which is a fable intended to paper over almost four years of failed economic policies.