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Open thread March 29, 2013

Dan Crawford | March 29, 2013 9:01 am

Tags: open thread Comments (9) | Digg Facebook Twitter |
9 Comments
  • anirrationalviewoftheirrational says:
    March 29, 2013 at 10:18 am

    Robert Reich on big money influence on our economic policies.

    http://robertreich.org/post/46544844804

    “Great wealth can also influence public opinion. It is possible, for example, that the piles of money spent by billionaire Pete Peterson to persuade Americans that the budget deficit is the nation’s most urgent economic problem is now paying off. Recent polls show greater concern about the deficit now than was expressed a few years ago when the deficit represented a much larger percentage of the total economy.”

    In short; it’s amazing to see how the investor class has persuaded some in the middle class to vote against its own interests. The massive influx of election spending by the Koch Bros et al is hugely responsible for this. Campaign finance reform isn’t necessary to just preserve democracy, but to preserve the middle class.

  • PJR says:
    March 29, 2013 at 10:27 am

    Krugman’s column today is spot-on. If we’re truly concerned about our children and grandchildren, our challenge is to build a greater country for them and dismiss the naysayers in Congress who simply are protecting the wealthy. And we need to act now, not later, to build this country for them. Our infrastructure is crumbling when it should be modernizing. Millions of people, including many who are well-educated, need employment. Most baby boomers are still productive, not retired and in need of even more expensive medical care. Interest rates are low and the wealthy have so much money that they wouldn’t feel even large tax hikes. Businesses badly want customers so they can grow–and banks have the money to support such opportunities, if they would appear. What am I missing here? What our country seems to be missing–other than thinking people in Congress–is boldness from the White House and public pressure from state and local leaders, who should be demanding help for infrastructure improvements and jobs for their people.

  • rjs says:
    March 29, 2013 at 10:59 am

    Ellen Brown:

    It Can Happen Here: The Confiscation Scheme Planned for US and UK Depositors

  • rjs says:
    March 29, 2013 at 11:00 am

    PJR; Krugman’s column is OK, but the blog post he links to suggesting the trade deficit & budget deficit are decoupled indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of sector balences…

  • Arne says:
    March 29, 2013 at 12:04 pm

    If PK had written in his column what he wrote in his blog, he would have Dean Baker on his back.

  • PJR says:
    March 29, 2013 at 2:08 pm

    rjs they are “coupled” to the extent that the private sector deficit/surplus is held constant, correct? I agree PK did a lousy job in that blog post. Still, politicians are wrong when they claim that our large budget deficits currently are being financed by loans from China and other foreigners.

  • rjs says:
    March 29, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    PJR, yes, theyre coupled as a function of the private sector’s balance, and as long as the private sector is deleveraging and we’re running trade deficits, the government sector has to run deficits…

    where krugman goes wrong is when he says “In a famous analysis, Martin Feldstein pronounced them “twin deficits”, linking the external deficit to the budget deficit, a proposition that made sense at the time”, implying that the linkage no longer makes sense…

    & our budget deficits arent being “financed by foreigners” either…in that the private sector buys goods from China & oil from the Saudis, the Chinese & Saudis end up holding the Treasury instruments that the private sector has used to pay for those purchases…

  • Jack says:
    March 29, 2013 at 5:22 pm

    I’m curious to hear opinions regarding the validity of the Ellen Brown article for which rjs has provided the link, above. I read the article on Counterpunch and find it incredible if true. Worrisome, to say the least.

  • juan says:
    March 31, 2013 at 1:11 am

    Hey Jack, hope you’ve been well.

    I’ve long been of the opinion that capital will do ANYTHING in an effort to
    perpetuate itself,,,even though that ‘ANYTHING’ might well destroy the relations its existence depends on.

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