Paul Krugman: Wow, I Almost Just Applauded Mitt Romney

The New York Times:

Hope springs eternal. For a few hours I was ready to applaud Mitt Romney for speaking honestly about what his calls for smaller government actually mean.

Read the whole story at The New York Times

Comments

[Not2Normal]

09:18 AM on 06/18/2012

I thought for a minute that Krugman had a stroke or something! LOL.

[polkarde]

10:09 AM on 06/17/2012

The only round of applause Mitt Romney will ever get from me, is him taking his beating (gracefully) as a man, come Nov 2012.

[abhorson]

03:34 AM on 06/17/2012

every election season left-wingers start crying about the "teacher, firemen and police officers" that die working for us...

in between election season, firemen are a white male-dominated racist bunch, police-officers trample on minorities and apply racial profiling and don't promote blacks...

of course, teachers never do ANY wrong for the left... there could never be enough failing public schools ..!!

[Not2Normal]

09:22 AM on 06/18/2012

I have a feeling you look at the bad and find fault with everything. Fireman also work tirelessly saving homes and lives, police protect and serve, saving lives and homes, and teachers work tirelessly and for way too little pay to do a thankless job dealing with other peoples kids.
I would hate to be any of those people and deal with you.

[abhorson]

11:15 AM on 06/18/2012

luckily my house is not on fire - though my house-sitters have not properly cleaned the yard as my back-yard internet-connected cam is telling me...
the police chief, I know, he's a friend.... 
and public schools... I don't have the pleasure of dealing with any ... unfortunately my property tax dollars still make their way in that direction.
the point - well understood I'm sure - was that the "left" only makes use of firemen and police DURING election cycles ... the rest of the time, the left despises them...
teachers have halos ... all of them.... and their schools too... no one, AT ALL, is ever to blame ... 

[lackofoversight]

03:26 AM on 06/17/2012

Paul Krugman is right. In a downturn or recession the government should be hiring and creating new jobs so those employees can spend that income making purchases from the very private sector that claims there is not enough demand from consumers in order to stimulate their production and expansion.

Ultimately the private sector will hire new employees to meet the increased demand for products and services. The time for cutting and slashing the Federal deficit is when the economy is doing well and and the cuts will not be severely felt.

Why Obama gave into Republican calls for austerity and government hiring cutbacks and didn't keep government hiring levels even at the rate it was under G W Bush, let alone even higher, is a mystery to me.

[randmyan]

07:29 AM on 06/17/2012

The very people that you are relying on to spend and create demand are being paid by the people in the private sector through increased taxes to pay those additional people.
There are many more people in the private sector than the public sector.
How many additional public sector employees would it take to actually move the needle while not impacting the amount of money ie. increase taxes, so that the private sector citizen taxpayer, could be a part of the demand curve?
This is the most ridiculous of all the failed Lib economic theories.
You can not stimulate demand by increasing the costs on the private sector by hiring more public sector employees which the private sector must spend more of their disposable income on to pay through increased taxes.

[megwright]

09:13 PM on 06/17/2012

The point is to keep from laying off people who already have jobs providing needed services, not to hire new ones. When you lay off anyone, public or private sector, those people stop spending, which means they're not creating demand. Lay off enough people and demand decreases so much small businesses close their doors and larger corporations start laying off half their workers.

Then THOSE laid off workers stop spending, decreasing demand still further, prompting more failed businesses and more layoffs.

Meanwhile, those laid off workers and failed businesses aren't paying taxes, meaning reduced revenues at the city and state and federal level, which means governments cut more public services and more public sector workers.

Austerity in a weak economy ends up being a death spiral for the economy. Too bad you can't see that.

[philszed]

10:57 PM on 06/17/2012

I know that this is anathema to you, but the spending in this case is DEFICIT spending, i.e. nothing comes out of the productive classes. We're only talking about tacking on a 3.9% surcharge on incomes over a $1M from the idle classes, e.g. the inheritors, the passive capital gainers.

[WowFolksAreDumb]

03:18 AM on 06/17/2012

Good article. No talking points, just facts and figures. I didn't know about Ireland's problems before now, and I understand more comprehensively why no one should ever vote GOP again. I mean, I stopped voting GOP is 2004 after Bush tried to declare war and cut Veteran benefits in the same WEEK. That hypocrisy of being "for the troops" was sufficient for me, but now our economy and the future of the environment and education are on the line, and Romney will gut us all to profit his wealthy buddies who are dumping millions and millions into his campaign. OBAMA2012

[marinemomof3]

07:21 AM on 06/17/2012

My conversion happened during the SC primaries in 2000.

To be honest, I had an advantage, I lived in TX, '95 - '97.

I could not believe the governor was educated with his use of the English language.

Here is what is up their dirty sleeves now, SOB'S !!!

http://www.disabledveterans.org/2011/04/16/republicans-seek-to-cut-1-3-million-veterans/

[A Denise Moore]

01:46 AM on 06/17/2012

Mitt Romney is George Bush 2.0, with dyed dictator hair.

[noaxe397]

10:41 PM on 06/16/2012

The problem with privatizing government services is that a large portion of public money must go to no public use, like CEO bonuses, dividends to shareholders, profits  and grossly over inflated executive compensation.............No conservative has been able to use conservative ideology to explain why public money for public service should go to private profit.

[CJ40inWI]

11:30 PM on 06/16/2012

You can also add advertising and marketing to that list as well noaxe397, but I agree with you.

[hornedcog]

12:18 AM on 06/17/2012

Exactly.

[Nathan Seibert-Pegues]

08:21 PM on 06/16/2012

"Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society" - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Without revenue, there is no society. Revenue is raised through taxation. When you aren't generating enough revenue to pay the bills, you have two options: Tax or Cut.

Cutting services, jobs, and or taxes does nothing to promote the general welfare (a Constututional duty of the government), and does everything to erode civility and fracture society.

Taxation on the other hand, helps us to meet our national finacial obligations, provide services, maintain the workforce (public employees are workers too), and promotes the general welfare of Americans.

I don't have children, but I don't mind paying taxes that fund schools either. Why you ask?, Why since I don't have kids, would I be okay with my hard earned money go to fund some badly run "indocrination mill"? Because some of your snot-nosed little brats will be running things someday, and maybe if my money helps make them smarter, better people, they won't repeat their parents' folly, making the poor suffer to serve the interests of the wealthy.

Pay your taxes happily, and be a civilized, thoughtful society.

Don't pay them, and be uncivilized serfs working the lands for your liege lord.

The choice is yours.

[429freckles]

11:13 PM on 06/16/2012

Good post. I'm happy to be fan #31. Hope to be reading more from you in the future.

[OMGISITOVER]

01:34 AM on 06/17/2012

Nathan- Where have you been for the past few months? Good Job! Welcome to sanity there are only a few of us out here that get it. The rest are blinded by racist comments and empty post. Thanks. Fan/Fav #34

[alafonse]

07:58 PM on 06/16/2012

Republicans would privatize everything. Look at the privatized prison system and learn from it. Now imagine your schools and fire/police departments in the same situation.
When profit is the goal, people do anything and everything to make their almighty dollars. Just like the private war contractors. We should shudder every time they talk about slashing big government, because the alternative is NOT going to benefit our citizens.

[janmB]

08:26 PM on 06/16/2012

Profiteering from war, profits from underpaid workers, profiting from sick people, This isn't what this country was all about and now it's all that we are.....FOR PROFIT ONLY.
How badly do fat cat CEOs want to bring back the George W. Bush days when they got filthy rich outsourcing American jobs? I'll tellya how...bad....when Senate Republicans successfully blocked a bill from coming to the Senate floor Sept 2010.... that Democrats claim would help keep American jobs from going overseas. The Democratic bill would have ended certain tax breaks for companies expanding overseas while giving new tax incentives to businesses bringing jobs home.

[Thomas VonBerge]

08:33 PM on 06/16/2012

The schools are already pretty bad. Private schools outshine public schools in every category.

[akoop]

09:02 PM on 06/16/2012

Not affordability! I would have loved to send my kids to private schools. They both got their degrees from State sponsored schools. Thank you public education.

[megwright]

09:34 PM on 06/17/2012

So wrong. We have 20 years of experience with privatizing public schools. Statistics show that about 17% of the time private schools do better than public schools, but those are usually either elite private schools or the Catholic schools. I'm not aware of any case in which a new for-profit private school has performed better than the public schools.

About 34% of the time, private schools do WORSE than the public schools, sometimes so disastrously worse that when the schools fail, their students end up having to repeat a grade.

The rest of the time public and private schools do about the same.

[greyK]

06:23 PM on 06/16/2012

yep. Romney....almost....stood for something. something horrible that's tanking the European economy and has GOP Governors from coast to coast send 1.4 million into the unemployment line here.

whose AFRAID of a Mittens presidency? we ALL should be. be VERY afraid.

[Alux]

02:21 PM on 06/16/2012

When Paul Krugman talks about bigger government and bigger deficits, we should all listen and then check our wallets.

As a paid Enron consultant, Krugman was able to observe up close how a large company hid massive deficits right up until it went bankrupt.

As a JournoList propagandist, Krugman regularly encourages us to learn to love massive government and massive deficits - after all, we won't pay the deficits, our children and grandchildren will.

Krugman has yet to explain how Greece will be able to continue to run up massive deficits once it is kicked out of the Euro-zone and cut off from the bond market. He does not want us to look at how that may happen to the once-mighty US if our Chinese brethern decide the Dollar and the Zimbabwe Dollar have merged into the same currency. Remember that in Zimbabwe, the government actually printed 100 Trillion Z$ notes (that's 10to the 14th power for the mathematical minded) by the bushel.

You can complain about how the Bush recession and the Obama recovery have hurt your retirement plan. If Krugman has his way, your life savings will not buy a cup of coffee at McDonald's.

Rock on Paul!

[eXcommunicate]

03:01 PM on 06/16/2012

Comparing the USD to the Zimbabwe dollar is ludicrous, for one thing.

[Alux]

04:00 PM on 06/16/2012

Not if the Trillion Dollar A Year Deficit President gets re-elected.

[OSCPJ]

05:15 PM on 06/16/2012

Typical response. Why even bother? And when it happens, "Through no fault of your own......." Got it.

[Not2Normal]

09:45 AM on 06/18/2012

I looked at several bios of Paul Krugman and couldn't find anywhere that he was an Enron consultant. He did work for the Federal Reserve a long time ago, however.

[Alux]

09:57 AM on 06/18/2012

You ain't looking.  In fact you ain't looking at all.  Even his own website has an extended apologia trying to rationalize "once and for all", as he put it, his role at Enron.

[golfvue3]

10:42 PM on 06/19/2012

http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1688

[mimimus]

11:52 AM on 06/16/2012

Romney narrowly dodges a dose of clap would have made a better headline.

[Rick Bullock]

11:04 AM on 06/16/2012

Teachers, police and firemen are clearly necessary and "good" expenditures for the public good. However, public employment (read "bureacrats") was never meant to be a profession or career choice. When public employees have greater wages and benefits than private sector employees, there is a HUGE problem.

[Rita at Goldivas]

11:12 AM on 06/16/2012

Public employment is a career, and many conscientious and competent individuals do prepare for it by getting a good education. Why would that be a problem? As far as public employees having greater benefits than their private employee counterparts, why not ask why are the privately-employed people getting the shaft?

[Rick Bullock]

11:20 AM on 06/16/2012

You've obviously never been to the Office of Motor Vehicles in your state.

[leftword]

11:28 AM on 06/16/2012

"why not ask why are the privately-employed people getting the shaft?"

Thank you. I've been asking that question for years of people whose idea of a level playing field is dragging others down rather than lifting themselves up. Unions have done an excellent job of the latter ---- which is why the right-wingers hate them so much.

[Nathan Seibert-Pegues]

08:01 PM on 06/16/2012

Since the private sector prides itself on "inventive" and "creative" practices in the workplace (read: lay-offs, plant closures, broken Union contracts, firing employees and replacing them with two part-timers to avoid paying the older a pension and the two youngers benefits at all...), enabling them to be "successful", reaping financial reward for the executives and their shareholders at the expense of employees, their families, and the public in general, well maybe the Public Sector is the only sector to work in if you expect to be anything other than an indentured servant.

When the private sector becomes viable again, and when Americans get paid an honest days wages for an honest days work, then maybe you will have a point; but until such time, you don't.

The HUGE problem is that forest you can't see because of all those annoting trees in the way.

[burtonburtoncom]

10:31 AM on 06/16/2012

Another great article by Krugman. Too bad dumb voters can't read.

Making government smaller happens when Republicans eliminate government jobs before stopping drug companies from likely overcharging our federal government (taxpayers) billions for Medicare Part D, a bill passed under GW Bush. Allowing drug companies to overcharge for drugs needlessly enriches drug companies while reducing tax revenues needed to fund jobs promoting the common good like teachers, policemen and firemen. Some say drug companies are overcharging taxpayers $320 billion over ten years. Given taxpayers took back $32 billion per year, we could without raising taxes employ 800,000 more teachers, policemen and firemen and firemen at $40,000 per year.

Conservatives: why are we allowing drug companies to needlessly enrich themselves by overcharge taxpayers more important than employing workers promoting the common good?

[mavpay]

11:58 AM on 06/16/2012

burton: Republicans continue to support taxpayer subsidies for major corporations like Oil, Gas and Energy. Both parties continue to promote taxpayer subsidies to attract the usual BIG Box and other brick and mortor retail businesses to local communities with the promise of low wage retail jobs with little-to-no benefits.

Wal-Mart would employ part-time workers and encourage them to apply for Medicaid and food stamps. Some local communities starting pushing back against Wal-Mart and their local officials by demanding that Wal-Mart start providing benefits to their sales associates.

[burtonburtoncom]

12:49 PM on 06/16/2012

House Republicans pledged 100% not to raise taxes. Great sound bite. Given this, how can Republicans stop needless tax breaks to highly profitable big business making record profits outsourcing jobs? Republicans can't stop needless tax breaks to highly profitable big business because it would be construed as raising taxes on the job creators outsourcing jobs. The other reason is Republicans are afraid to stop big business controlling much of our government. Why are highly profitable big business making record profit shamelessly accepting tax breaks?

[429freckles]

11:15 PM on 06/16/2012

I totally agree. Fan'd

[SkyCap]

02:25 PM on 06/16/2012

Let me see if I understand your views. Unless you are elected to office, you can't offer your opinion? Also, talking about subjects within your professional concern (ie, an economist talking about economic policy) means you are titling yourself "Know All For Everything"?

Then you say...well, it's hard to understand exactly what you are saying. You don't write very coherently.

[PropRules]

10:49 AM on 06/18/2012

That's because your closed liberal mind doesn't know how to read. Just because he offers an opinion doesn't make it so. At least he's taken some of your time to express his ideas, while you on the other hand are so bias, you take his opinion as gospel without trying to figure it out on your own.

[Andman0121]

03:31 PM on 06/16/2012

wow