Krugman-The Unwisdom of Elites

[n2doc]

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: May 8, 2011

The past three years have been a disaster for most Western economies. The United States has mass long-term unemployment for the first time since the 1930s. Meanwhile, Europe’s single currency is coming apart at the seams. How did it all go so wrong?


Well, what I’ve been hearing with growing frequency from members of the policy elite — self-appointed wise men, officials, and pundits in good standing — is the claim that it’s mostly the public’s fault. The idea is that we got into this mess because voters wanted something for nothing, and weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate’s foolishness.

So this seems like a good time to point out that this blame-the-public view isn’t just self-serving, it’s dead wrong.

The fact is that what we’re experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. The policies that got us into this mess weren’t responses to public demand. They were, with few exceptions, policies championed by small groups of influential people — in many cases, the same people now lecturing the rest of us on the need to get serious. And by trying to shift the blame to the general populace, elites are ducking some much-needed reflection on their own catastrophic mistakes.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/opinion/09krugman.html

[DrDan]

1. bingo

[geckosfeet]

2. more...

The Unwisdom of Elites

These days Americans get constant lectures about the need to reduce the budget deficit. That focus in itself represents distorted priorities, since our immediate concern should be job creation. But suppose we restrict ourselves to talking about the deficit, and ask: What happened to the budget surplus the federal government had in 2000?

The answer is, three main things. First, there were the Bush tax cuts, which added roughly $2 trillion to the national debt over the last decade. Second, there were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which added an additional $1.1 trillion or so. And third was the Great Recession, which led both to a collapse in revenue and to a sharp rise in spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs.

Finally, the Great Recession was brought on by a runaway financial sector, empowered by reckless deregulation. And who was responsible for that deregulation? Powerful people in Washington with close ties to the financial industry, that’s who. Let me give a particular shout-out to Alan Greenspan, who played a crucial role both in financial deregulation and in the passage of the Bush tax cuts — and who is now, of course, among those hectoring us about the deficit.

So it was the bad judgment of the elite, not the greediness of the common man, that caused America’s deficit. And much the same is true of the European crisis.

The Unwisdom of Elites

Not much else to say about this one.

Except that I am sick of being told that I need to be 'austere' to help the country recover from the recession. I pay taxes that have gone to bail out, nay, enrich, the elite corporations of the world. My taxes go to corporate welfare to subsidize oil companies who further gouge me at the pump. My taxes go to investment executive salaries and bonuses that are obscene by any measure. And I am sick of hearing that said corporations and executives need tax breaks to stimulate job growth.

Guess I did have a little to say about this...

[izquierdista]

3. I'll say what I said in another thread

Which of the elite have been subjected to austerity measures? Which bankers have had their estates, artwork, wardrobes, and cars sold at auction? Which politicians have been put on a diet of bread and water? Which CEOs have been told to move in with relatives because their houses are being used to satisfy creditors? I didn't think so.

[malaise]

4. Must read

Rec

[notesdev]

5. Elites like Krugman himself

Check it out, a self-referential article.

Too bad he never found time to mention Geithner and Bernanke, two HUGE players in the mess. I guess they're not worth a mention, being the kind of crooks that Krugman favors.

[ThomCat]

6. He wasn't one of those elites pushing the policies that led to

the big problems we're having today. He was pushing for transparency, inclusion from the bottom up, and accountability all along. Blaming him for the policies that the insider crowd pushed for is more than just a little disingenuous.