Posted on 07/22/2011 4:17:04 AM PDT by blam
The Lesser Depression
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: July 21, 2011
These are interesting times and I mean that in the worst way. Right now were looking at not one but two looming crises, either of which could produce a global disaster. In the United States, right-wing fanatics in Congress may block a necessary rise in the debt ceiling, potentially wreaking havoc in world financial markets. Meanwhile, if the plan just agreed to by European heads of state fails to calm markets, we could see falling dominoes all across southern Europe which would also wreak havoc in world financial markets.
We can only hope that the politicians huddled in Washington and Brussels succeed in averting these threats. But heres the thing: Even if we manage to avoid immediate catastrophe, the deals being struck on both sides of the Atlantic are almost guaranteed to make the broader economic slump worse.
In fact, policy makers seem determined to perpetuate what Ive taken to calling the Lesser Depression, the prolonged era of high unemployment that began with the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and continues to this day, more than two years after the recession supposedly ended.
Lets talk for a moment about why our economies are (still) so depressed.
(snip)
For those who know their 1930s history, this is all too familiar. If either of the current debt negotiations fails, we could be about to replay 1931, the global banking collapse that made the Great Depression great. But, if the negotiations succeed, we will be set to replay the great mistake of 1937: the premature turn to fiscal contraction that derailed economic recovery and ensured that the Depression would last until World War II finally provided the boost the economy needed.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Kicking The Can.
This is truly the sober, reasoned analysis one would expect of a Nobel laureate.
We all can learn much from this humble sage.
enter antiChrist ,,, stage left.
(I'm goin' home soon)
Yesterday S&P representatives met with House GOP Freshmen to warn them of financial Armageddon if the debt ceiling isn't hiked.
Once they go down, it's really in the tubes. Consider that 12,500 in the market has the real value of about 9,000. Even as it stays up and the number of dollars increases, our net VALUE is down.
Since the perverted Clinton administration, liberals have become the most vile, psychotic, and truly demented vermin on the planet. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING, is more important to these scumbags than their perverted, historically inept, and disastrous political ideology. Not their children, not future generations... nothing.
Seriously. With blatant anti-conservative demagoguery like that in the third line, this should have had a barf alert. Especially this early in the morning.
Oh, wait, the word "Krugman" in the title DOES mean "barf alert." My bad.
Notice how while the liberals are constantly warning about right wing violence, the only violence is committed by liberals?
I believe that is called "projection".
I just hope that the liberals don’t try to use the same solution to get out of this depression that they used to get out of the depression of the 1930s...a world war!
In fact, policy makers seem determined to perpetuate what Ive taken to calling the Lesser Depression, the prolonged era of high unemployment that began with the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and continues to this day, more than two years after the recession supposedly ended.
Lets talk for a moment about why our economies are (still) so depressed.
The great housing bubble of the last decade, which was both an American and a European phenomenon, was accompanied by a huge rise in household debt. When the bubble burst, home construction plunged, and so did consumer spending as debt-burdened families cut back.
Everything might still have been O.K. if other major economic players had stepped up their spending, filling the gap left by the housing plunge and the consumer pullback. But nobody did. In particular, cash-rich corporations see no reason to invest that cash in the face of weak consumer demand.
Nor did governments do much to help. Some governments those of weaker nations in Europe, and state and local governments here were actually forced to slash spending in the face of falling revenues. And the modest efforts of stronger governments including, yes, the Obama stimulus plan were, at best, barely enough to offset this forced austerity.
So we have depressed economies. What are policy makers proposing to do about it? Less than nothing.
The Lesser Depression By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: July 21, 2011
Cut and Cap are good, Sell needs to be added to the formula.
Tax increases and loss of deductions are not the only tools to raise government revenue.
I am not talking about selling Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. But the USG is the largest landowner in the nation.
There is plenty of room to privatize obsolete military bases. How about Johnson Space Center.
The Dept of Energy has power generating assets that can be sold.
HUD, Dept of Education, where to start.
The “right-wing fanatics” passed a bill, CC&B, that would provide for an increase in the national debt along with a program to address the underlying fiscal problems in the country. The idiot from Princeton doesn’t like the plan. That’s his right. So come up with a better and don’t blame the “right-wing fanatics” for doing what you say needs to be done.
His first crisis is a first attempt by somebody to finally start dealing with his second crisis, which is of course the root of the problem. His response is to ignore the root and do some minor pruning of the branches.
Very odd line of reasoning.
I agree with you. Anyone who can't understand that the stock markets are in a bubble blown by Ben Bernanke's billions [alliteration anyone?] is beyond hope. Usually, Fed funny money enters the economy through loans to business, but since no one's borrowing or lending, he's had to get it out through the back door.
The only takers have been Wall Street and the government which is thrilled to have Bernanke buy its bonds directly. It takes longer this way, but it eventually does its damage.
“...right wing fanatics...”
You rang ?
“nothing is more important to these scumbags than their perverted, historically inept, and disastrous political ideology.”
I submit that your statement could say “economic ideology”. Their political ideology is centralized control over the economy, which puts statists like Krugman in charge of the economy, for his personal profit. The money and the secrets to getting others to accept the control and parasitizatiion of the ruling class is then passed on to their children.
His ‘plan’ is to spend more. And I don’t mean simply allowing the government to increase the limit. He wants them to increase the level of spending significantly, to the tune of 2 to 3 trillion.
So instead of a 1.5 trillion dollar deficit, he’s advocating a 4 trillion dollar deficit.
This from the man who screamed bloody murder about Bush’s two hundred billion deficit.
Princeton indeed.
Plain and simple: it is their religion.
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