Paul Krugman: Democrats And Republicans In Two Different Universes

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Friday waxes galactic when it comes to the partisan battles in Washington, writing that "Democrats and Republicans live in different universes, both intellectually and morally."

As evidence Krugman uses Arizona senator Jon Kyl's defense of Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) who temporarily held up unemployment insurance benefits to unemployed Americans across the country this week.

In his remarks, Kyl argued that unemployment benefits were a "a disincentive for work because people are being paid even though they are not working."

(More on Kyl's views of the unemployment benefits extension).

And more from Krugman:

[The] parties now live in different universes, both intellectually and morally. We can ask how that happened; there, too, the parties live in different worlds. Republicans would say that it's because Democrats have moved sharply left: a Republican National Committee fund-raising plan acquired by Politico suggests motivating donors by promising to "save the country from trending toward socialism." I'd say that it's because Republicans have moved hard to the right, furiously rejecting ideas they used to support. Indeed, the Obama health care plan strongly resembles past G.O.P. plans. But again, I don't live in their universe.

Read Paul Krugman's entire New York Times column.

Comments

[Harrier]

10:50 AM on 03/08/2010

What you have is a broken system and and ideal time for a third party to form. The Republicans are getting a taste of the medicine they dished out when they were the majority and Democrats now know the Republicans will not vote for anything and will alway "talk" bipartisanship because that is what Americans wanted to hear. You can say "different universe,as long as you are the party in power. But in the end the Democrats are just too slow and are being run by extremists just like Repubs.

[CanUFeel2012]

10:11 AM on 03/08/2010

republicans think palin is qualified...

Everyone else thinks they're FKN mo R ans...

[CanUFeel2012]

10:09 AM on 03/08/2010

Republicans want our President to fail....

Democrats think thats re tarded..

[flatus]

07:43 AM on 03/08/2010

The amount of disincentive should be directly proportional to the difference between what was paid and what is now received through unemployment insurance. In other words, minimum wage workers may be the group that has the least incentive to find work again quickly.

[rjhuntington]

08:29 AM on 03/08/2010

"minimum wage workers may be the group that has the least incentive to find work again quickly."

Except for the fact that minimum wage is not enough to live on let alone support a family. The unemployment benefit after losing a minimum-wage job is far from adequate income. A person receiving such a benefit could hardly afford not to look for work.

[flatus]

07:00 PM on 03/08/2010

True enough that a min wager would have to, most likely, have other forms of support. But if previous wages - UI = crap per hour then they will not be so likely to rush back to work.

[JailNeoconVicts]

02:01 AM on 03/08/2010

Americans assume that what happened in 1930's Germany--a sophisticated, educated country--can't happen here. It can. And the Brownshirts are now the white militia--I mean, tea baggers--aided and abetted by the Republicans.

[Milo40]

05:03 PM on 03/07/2010

I find it interesting that Paul Krugman would associate an opinion like Kyl's with being unintelligent and bizarre. As for Textbooks that Democrats are referring to, I'm sure it is not this one:

"Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job. Generous unemployment benefits in some European countries are widely believed to be one of the main causes of "Eurosclerosis," the persistent high unemployment that affects a number of European countries."

"Macroeconomics", The authors of that textbook are Paul Krugman and Robin Wells. Miss Wells is also known as Mrs. Paul Krugman.

[TeraWatt60]

05:41 PM on 03/07/2010

Kyl's opinion is unintelligent and sounds like the same BS floated by Cons for more than a century...the unemployed "choose" to be unemployed or those on Welfare all drive to the welfare office in SUV's wearing Dior gowns...these myths are meant to make it easier for the upper classes to close their eyes to reality and feel somehow "morally superior". Another example the callous comment that those trapped in the SuperDome during Katrina were from Barbara "The Beach" Bush "they underprivileged anyone and are better there" when reality was anything.

People like Babs Bush and Bunny Bunning, and Johnny Kyl need to be forced to live on (in the case of Arizona) 240/wk in unemployment (the maximum benefit) + 125.00/month in Food Stamps with no assets or savings or extra funds of any kind and see how well they live and what a "incentive" it would be not to work.

[Milo40]

06:21 PM on 03/07/2010

The whole point of stalling the bill was to examine the "pork" that was included in the bill, and to examine how it was going to be paid for.

And that "pork" could have been used to increase the benefits. That's the problem with these bills that contain or cover many different issues. There is so much snuck into them, that when you object to a portion of it, the other "side" focuses the attention on the title of the bill, instead of the substance.

It's done by both parties, and for Krugman to contradict himself like he did, only shows his political bias.

[MillinMn]

09:09 PM on 03/07/2010

got anything fresher to post?

[lightningbolt]

02:33 PM on 03/07/2010

The two parties only pretend to be in different universes. It makes the illusion of democracy a little more believable. Both parties work for the same masters: corporations which bribe them with campaign money.

[JimR]

03:25 PM on 03/07/2010

Yup, that's it exactly.

[Maury66]

04:47 PM on 03/07/2010

This is an easy postition to take...and false.

[janiceh]

08:24 PM on 03/07/2010

"...false."

Your evidence?

[lightningbolt]

10:15 AM on 03/08/2010

It's also easy to say false.

[RichieB]

01:02 PM on 03/07/2010

No doubt the repugs live in a different universe. As an independent progressive, I side with the democrats because they generally want to do the right thing for the American people and the middle class. It's the conservadems that are fouling up the works. The GOP has moved way to the right to meet with their ideological base. Conservatives usually put ideology above pragmatism. In my opinion they would rather see Obama fail so they can get back in power. After 8 years of Bush/Cheney and 14 years of a gop controled congress, we can't stand any more republican rule for a long while.

[IntelligenceIsBliss]

02:35 PM on 03/07/2010

Correction: "Conservatives ALWAYS put ideology above pragmatism."

They are the political equivalent of the religious zealots they exploit for votes.

[terragazelle60]

11:49 PM on 03/16/2010

You are right. If we have a split majority we will get nothing done at all..its hard enough now.
I know that there will be some conservative Dems will be getting primaried by better Dems. I will donate to any one that will primary Melancon if he votes no on Healthcare. We already have Vitter..don't need another to replace him.

[sposton]

12:52 PM on 03/07/2010

Democrats and Republicans may be in different universes but the most relevant fact is that Americans elites have detached themselves from the American people. They have created their own special klepto-sphere in which they float around the world unimpeded in a relentless pursuit of thieving, all of this supported by "our" government. This thieving can only go for so long because at the end there will be very little to steal and very little to sell. The serf classes will end up with no disposable incomes to create a sufficient aggregate demand. At that point we will end up with another world wide war as the final "stimulus".

[4TJefferson]

10:38 AM on 03/07/2010

Welcome to the party Paul.

[Elyriaohio]

09:07 AM on 03/07/2010

I believe Libs and Cons brains ARE wired differently. Just as some people are afraid of heights, GOPers are afraid of change, while Libs are not.

[oldwhitewomantoo]

08:38 AM on 03/07/2010

Isn't this what so many of us have been saying for months?

Thank you, Mr. Krugman, for publishing this in the NYT for all to see.

And the critical part of this is that the Republicans are selling their rhetoric as being against the "left-leaning, socialist agenda" of the Democrats to their constituency. And they are falling for this nonsense, because it's easy & they don't have to think. Forget that it's not true. It's convenient.

It's maddening.

[WakeUp2021]

08:45 PM on 03/06/2010

What you leave out Krugman is that republicans have rejected reality. For instance they are fighting Obamas tax hikes at a time when Obama is cutting taxes. In 2009 taxes were 14.8% of GDP, 16% lower than Bush in 2008 and the lowest level since FDR 67 years ago.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205922,00.html

[Trance2010]

07:27 PM on 03/06/2010

Somebody marooned Krugman on planet Keynes. Time for him to come back to reality.

[TeraWatt60]

07:50 PM on 03/06/2010

and Republicans have the looks and morals of the Ferengi

[Trance2010]

07:58 PM on 03/06/2010

I would extend this compliment to the other branch of the War Party as well.

[terragazelle60]

11:54 PM on 03/16/2010

LOL...stay away from their ears...

Its funny but true ...

[JacksonHts]

08:10 AM on 03/07/2010

Because laissez faire and deregulation and irresponsible tax cuts worked so well for the 8 years of GOP government?

[rjhuntington]

08:34 AM on 03/08/2010

Just for that perfect retort, JacksonHts, let me be your fist fan!

[terragazelle60]

11:54 PM on 03/16/2010

I second that...

[wollstonecraft]

06:42 PM on 03/06/2010

As a Leftie, I've felt like a different species from those on the conservative Right for most of my life. For one thing, for the life of me I'll never understand how the wealthy (often on the Right) can't see that they have a stake in our well-being, and by "our" and "we" I mean regular, hard-working, struggling, frightened, un- and under-employed and underpaid Americans. They don't seem to see that, and that totally baffles me. It must be my peculiar brain.

[Trance2010]

07:26 PM on 03/06/2010

A very simplistic understanding of your political rivals, Little Grasshopper. A lot of us have don't have an issue with helping our fellow human beings, but with the coercive nature of the State.

[TeraWatt60]

08:09 PM on 03/06/2010

Sounds like Wollstone is very accurate, actually. What is simplistic and misguided is your belief that corporations and the wealthy would suddenly become altruistic and responsible community members if only given just one more tax cut or enriched even more ....

What has been shown is that without that "coercive nature of government" corporations and the uber wealthy simply pollute, rape, exploit and extort from everyone else...unless something inconventient happens to them like during the French and Russian Revolutions....and if the lid comes off of it the consequences will be the same

[JessWonderin]

09:58 PM on 03/06/2010

pretentious . . . you actually believe the current government is "coercive"???

. . . and you "don't have an issue with helping our fellow human beings", except when it calls for YOU to make any contribution PERSONALLY . . . I'm willing to bet that like the greatest MAJORITY of the "conservatives', you "contribute" to those groups that are in your mind "politically correct" and if trends are consistent, you give LESS than ever before to FEWER non sectarian groups . . . .

you talk a good game, but "Grasshopper", I believe you jump away from REAL solutions . . . .

[WakeUp2021]

08:58 PM on 03/06/2010

Why would the wealthy care about poor hard working Americans when at least on the right those people are too stupid to care about themselves? A rational person thinks we should create as many jobs as possible and then there will be jobs for everyone. A rightwinger thinks if we create a lot of jobs then illegal immigrants or brown skinned people might get one of those jobs. Lee Atwater explained the republican thought on this issue.

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/