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Paul Krugman is plain awful

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by hondo, Sep 11, 2011.

Page 5 of 8
  1. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    He reads it standing up!
     
    Azrael, Sep 12, 2011
    #49
  2. Point of Order

    Point of Order Active Member

    In a urinal no less.
     
    Point of Order, Sep 12, 2011
    #50
  3. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    So he can see how Derek Jeter did the night before.
     
    Baron Scicluna, Sep 12, 2011
    #51
  4. Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)

    Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L) Active Member

    NYT opened at $6.99 and is now at $6.87. That's approaching their 52-week low of $6.47. They must be taking business advice from Paul Krugman.
     
    Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L), Sep 12, 2011
    #52
  5. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Giuliani couldn't run again. He was term limited. 9/11 was, in fact, the day of the Democratic primary -- an event that saved the lives of people who decided to vote before heading off to work.

    He tried to delay the inauguration of the new Mayor, which was rejected. (Rightly so, if you ask me.)

    But, if 9/11 never happens, Rudy still makes big bucks on the lecture circuit. 9/11 allowed Rudy to show another side of himself, but he was already well thought of among many for his management and his leadership.

    He's the guy that governed the ungovernable city.

    He had also laid the groundwork for Giuliani Partners by 9/11. It was why his senior management team was still in place and hadn't jumped to the private sector already. They knew they were going with him.
     
    YankeeFan, Sep 12, 2011
    #53
  6. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    I never pay attention to reader comments.

    How common or rare is it for comments to not be available on a Times column?

    Can a columnist just decide not to allow comments on their piece? I would think some online editor would make that decision.
     
    YankeeFan, Sep 12, 2011
    #54
  7. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    His column takes comments. Today:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/opinion/an-impeccable-disaster.html?src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB

    I assume the discretion to allow comments on his blog is his own.
     
    Azrael, Sep 12, 2011
    #55
  8. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    So, blog post vs. column. Got it.
     
    YankeeFan, Sep 12, 2011
    #56
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Ha, and of course he used that opinion piece to advocate a European Central Bank bail out -- with money from where? Because the problems they have aren't bad enough, so why not create problems that will last decades? It's certainly the Paul Krugman way.

    He is correct when he says that Spain's percentage of debt to its GDP heading into the meltdown we are seeing, was less than Britain (or France or Germany or the U.S., for that matter).

    But the reason interest rates on their sovereign debt soared isn't because of a "run" the way he put it. It's because their economy, and fiscal attitudes, are weak as all hell compared to Britain (or France or Germany or the U.S.).

    It's like comparing a luxury sports car with an economy vehicle and making the point that the economy vehicle gets better gas mileage, to claim it deserves the same sticker price as the luxury car.

    You can afford to run up more debt, and still inspire confidence, when your economy inspires confidence. The Spanish economy has been a mess since the 1990s, and it took a bigger hit in 2008 than those other countries. Unemployment rose to close to 20 percent, exacerbated in part, because it has some of the most rigid labor laws in the developed world. It's damn near impossible to fire anyone, so when the economy got hit hard, employers were afraid to hire.

    With the contagion, it's not just a coincidence that Spain's sovereign debt started to look shaky, while France or Germany has held up relatively well.

    As for the point of the column? He wants more central banking, more bearded men controlling money supplies and trying to manage economies through monetary policy. That has done more harm in the last 50 years than anything economically, and Krugman -- a bearded man himself, he believes he can dribble a football to save us from ourselves -- wants the Europeans to double down. At this point, it doesn't matter as much. I put the odds of a Euro collapse at 30 percent or greater. But what Krugman is advocating will take a disaster that creates another financial crisis and extends it much longer than it would have had to be. All because he's the smart guy who can "manage it away for us."

    I wish he'd just give it up. There are no quick fixes when you create fiscal messes and run up debt loads you can't handle. It comes to a head and you have to face the consequences, as much as Paul Krugman thinks he (or the ECB) can spin wire into gold.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 12, 2011
    #57
  10. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    Maybe it's time to either forgive debt or print money, because one or the other has to happen. Ragu is not the only one to say where does the money come from, but what is money? It's just a belief that bits, paper and coin mean something. That's why money is a farce.
     
    Stitch, Sep 12, 2011
    #58
  11. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    There are consequences.
     
    RickStain, Sep 12, 2011
    #59
  12. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    What Rudy did was more than what Bush did by light years. After the attack, Bush and his government was no where to be found. Flying around AF1 looking for a place to land to make a statement and then back in the plane. When you did see Bush he instilled no confidence, no reassurance and most importantly, the President of the United States showed no Commanding Presence. At the country's most perilous moment since Pearl Harbor, President Bush looked weak, lost and clueless. He was. Cheney was busy playing Dr Strangelove and I'm sure Powell was looking to cover his ass.
    Giuliani was there, possibly in harm's way and reassuring New York and the Country that there was a leader and there was a future.
    The entire National Executive command structure bunkered down leaving the people of this country with a profound sense of foreboding.

    Rudy got crushed as a Presidential candidate because most Lucid Americans knew, intuitively, that his genuine reactions on 9-11 and in the aftermath, were just insufficient qualities to make him President.

    His cashing in did not cheapen his actions for those 111 days.
     
    heyabbott, Sep 12, 2011
    #60
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