Friday, November 19, 2010

Unbelievable

The following are excerpts from  the op-ed piece, The Axis of Depression by Paul Krugman in today's NYT.                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do the government of China, the government of Germany and the Republican Party have in common? They’re all trying to bully the Federal Reserve into calling off its efforts to create jobs. And the motives of all three are highly suspect. 

The Fed is trying to reduce interest rates, as it always does when unemployment is high and inflation is low. 

The case for Fed action is overwhelming. the main concern  is that they are likely to prove too weak, too ineffective.

But why are Republicans joining in this attack? 

Mr. Bernanke and his colleagues seem stunned to find themselves in the cross hairs. They thought they were acting in the spirit of none other than Milton Friedman, who blamed the Fed for not acting more forcefully during the Great Depression — and who, in 1998, called on the Bank of Japan to “buy government bonds on the open market,” exactly what the Fed is now doing. 
 
Republicans, however, will have none of it, raising objections that range from the odd to the incoherent. 

The odd: on Monday, a somewhat strange group of Republican figures — who knew that William Kristol was an expert on monetary policy? — released an open letter to the Fed warning that its policies “risk currency debasement and inflation.” These concerns were echoed in a letter the top four Republicans in Congress sent Mr. Bernanke on Wednesday. Neither letter explained why we should fear inflation when the reality is that inflation keeps hitting record lows. 

And about dollar debasement: leaving aside the fact that a weaker dollar actually helps U.S. manufacturing, where were these people during the previous administration? The dollar slid steadily through most of the Bush years, a decline that dwarfs the recent down tick. Why weren’t there similar letters demanding that Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman at the time, tighten policy? 

Meanwhile, the incoherent: Two Republicans, Mike Pence in the House and Bob Corker in the Senate, have called on the Fed to abandon all efforts to achieve full employment and focus solely on price stability. Why? Because unemployment remains so high. No, I don’t understand the logic either. 

So what’s really motivating the G.O.P. attack on the Fed?   Stan Collender predicted it all. Back in August, he warned Mr. Bernanke that “with Republican policy makers seeing economic hardship as the path to election glory,” they would be “opposed to any actions taken by the Federal Reserve that would make the economy better.” In short, their real fear is not that Fed actions will be harmful, it is that they might succeed.
                     
 Republicans want the economy to stay weak as long as there’s a Democrat in the White House.
                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~If you have manged to remain calm after reading the excerpts from Krugman's op-ed piece, I have a few more items to add to this ugly picture.
The Republicans have made no secret that their only goal for the next two years is exactly the same game plan they have been following for the last two years.  They will do everything in their power to destroy the Obama presidency, even though they are destroying the country to do so.  It is despicable, unpatriotic, and cowardly.
I cannot fathom why anyone would vote for these greedy power hungry jerks again.  The party of 'no' has sunk to new depths of disgusting meanness.   They took an oath of office when sworn in to do the best for our country.  Not the best for the Republican party.  
Some of the other recent 'cute' things they have accomplished since the foolish voters gave Obama a drubbing.  
  1. My  dishonorable Senator, John Kyle, has sabotaged the Nuclear Arms Proliferation Treaty to keep Obama from having a victory.  This comes at the expense of world safety. 
  2. My other hypocritical Senator, John McCain, has  disgraced himself by throwing a monkey wrench in the repeal of the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell ' policy.
  3. They have halted the funding of employment compensation for desperate people whose lives are being destroyed.   It isn't bad enough that the Republican party under George Bush brought the economic disaster on us.  Now they want to punish the victims of their incompetence. 
Shunning the President's invitation to the White House to   discuss ways to solve the nation's problems was an odious insult to our president.  They have managed to put off the date of meeting with him so that the President will not have time to  accomplish anything before they take over the House; thus robbing him of any good legislation.

That politics is a dirty game is a given, but the current Republican party crossed the line when they put their own greedy selfish desire ahead of the nation's needs.  There are so many real problems facing our country that will not wait for the 2012 election.   It appears that they are eager willing to take this country over the brink into the abyss rather than let Obama have a tiny victory.   When their goal of destroying Obama became more important than helping solve the critical problems facing us,  the party of 'NO' became the most unscrupulous political party in this nation's history.  

They have the unmitigated gall to blatantly say their most important goal is to stop Obama.  How outrageous !! To do so they will try to destroy the Health Care Reform act by not funding it until they have a Republican president so they can repeal it.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.


Let the poor eat cake, let the uninsured die, let the country be reviled again as it was under George Bush, let the country sink into a Great Depression so the Repubs can ride in on their white horse and rescue the country from all those Socialistic programs.  The only problem with that scenario is that they don't have a clue how to solve a single problem.   The hints as to how they plan to do so are all so ineffective that it's almost laughable.   I think we will need a good laugh before this is over.


You may be relieved to know this will be may last rant for a while.  I will not be spending much time on the computer for the next month or so.   I have a project that will take most of my time.  I will check in daily, but will not comment often because it does take me most of the day to do so.  


I will be going to California to spend Christmas at my daughter's house and other family members hope to join us there.  I am looking forward to getting away from politics for awhile.  My son, Mark, celebrated his 60th birthday last Sunday.  Now if you don't think that makes me feel old, guess again.  So I will make this trip while I am still able to navigate.


An update on my Visa fraud woes.  I got a letter yesterday from my credit card company telling me that the case has been closed.  Hooray!  Of course, they added the caveat that the merchant has 45 days to refile.  I don't think the merchant will do so under the circumstances.


In the event that I don't have time to post next week, I am taking this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

19 comments:

20th Century Woman said...

And a happy Thanksgiving to you, Darlene. I too will be away for the month of December -- going to spend Christmas with my dear cousin in New Zealand. But I will check in on you when I can.

I loved that post. It was so true.

Leslie Parsley said...

I just wonder if those Dems who didn't vote out of some petty "I'll show you" pique are happy now.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Rain Trueax said...

Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you have a wonderful time with your family

Darlene said...

*20th Century Woman - Have a wonderful time in an exciting and beautiful place.

*tnlib - I would say, "Serves them right" but the rest of us who did vote are stuck with their pique.

*Rain - Thank you so much. I hope you wil have al of your family with you, too.

Joy Des Jardins said...

Happy Thanksgiving Darlene...enjoy every minute away with your family. Hugs, Joy

Darlene said...

*Joy Des Jardins - Thank you, Joy, and a Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Tabor said...

It is so disheartening to think that conservatives in office can be so narrow minded and also, so hypocritical. They never called their leaders on the carpet during the Bush years. They just want to be in charge so that their cronies can run things for money and not long term gains.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Darlene said...

*Tabor - You are absolutely right. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Cowtown Pattie said...

After watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows today, the semblance to our present situation glared apparent on the big screen.

Muggles as you may or may not know are unmagically gifted humans. Mudbloods are offspring of a Muggle with a person of Magic.

All Muggles had to register their whereabouts and movements with the Ministry of Magic. All Mudbloods were imprisoned, tortured, or disapparated permanently.

All magic youth HAD to be enrolled at the now Ministry of Magic controlled school (Hogwarts) - (they used to be able to be schooled at home or as their parents chose) and taught the code/mantra/politics of the Ministry.

Of course the reader/audience could easily see the obvious allegory to Nazi Germany, but the intolerance of anyone other than the chosen magically purebloods rang eerily home to me.

Darlene said...

*Cowtown Pattie - The comparison is scary, isn't it?

I am familiar with the Harry Potter characters having seen the previous movies. I guess I had better get the latest.

M.E. said...

Happy Tday to you, Darlene...Have a swell time in CA. As for politics, we all need a break, and you've done a yeoman's work in keeping us up to date. Be happy and healthy.....M.E.

Hattoe said...

You are my "go to" person for clarification of political issues, but I can see how you could use a vacation from politics. Enjoy yourself!
Have a great holiday season, Darlene.

Darlene said...

*Extreme English - Thank you and a Happy Turkey day to you too.

*Hatttie - Thenk you and I hope the holidays are just wondrful for you and yours.

Jack Jodell said...

Darlene,
Hats off to you for this brilliantly enlightened post! These crafty Repugs will never be able to slip one by you!

The Republicans, and the corporations and wealthiest 1%-ers who are bankrolling them, have been on a relentless 30 year attack against the poor, working, and middle classes. \\\\\\it has now become SO bad that the time is drawing near for those affected by their excesses to take to the streets by the millions in a series of MASSIVE demonstrations to let them know how Americans REALLY feel about their governmental sabotage and economic policy slanted toward only the rich and powerful!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas, and know that we saner people WILL prevail, and that better days ARE coming!

Love you,
Jack

Darlene said...

*Jack Jodell - You do know how to make a gal's day. I do hope you are right about the future; it's getting hard to remain optomistic.

Thank you and Happy holidays to you, too.

paula said...

Hope you have a great holiday and visit with your family, Darlene.

Darlene said...

*Paula - Thank you and a Heppy Thanksgiving to you.

Kay Dennison said...

Happy Thanksgiving Darlene!!!!

And you are right in with this post!!! I swear Paul Krugman is the only economist left on the planet with a functioning brain.

How stupid are these people that they swallow the crap the GOP feeds us?

Darlene said...

*Kay Dennison - Beats me, Kay.