Paul Krugman Blog-Invalid Comparisons

[n2doc]

June 23, 2011, 5:20 AM
Janitors and Executives Have the Same Pay Packages
Paul Krugman

Of course, they don’t. But much of the argument over health care amounts to insisting that they do.

Aaron Carroll catches Steve Pearlstein saying that Obamacare and Ryancare are the same thing:

Democrats have been equally hysterical in attacking Ryancare as a throw-Grandma-under-the-bus scheme to balance the budget, even as they proudly defend the health reform law for everyone else.

As Carroll said, this is wrong in part because Ryancare would dismantle the much better system — Medicare — that seniors already have, while Obamacare would provide insurance to those who would not have it otherwise.

But beyond that, the subsidies in the health care law are supposed to make care affordable; the vouchers in Ryancare are not, and in fact would be grossly inadequate.

So the argument that Ryancare is just like Obamacare is like saying that the company janitor, who gets paid $18,000 a year, and a senior vice president who gets paid 20 or 30 times that much both get paid salaries, so hey, they get exactly the same deal!

It’s truly amazing that the Very Serious don’t get this point.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/janitors-and-executives-have-the-same-pay-packages/

[OHdem10]

1. To be fair, Bernanke in his appearance before the Congress

just before he began the QE2. At that very meeting
he told the Congress he recommended MORE STIMULUS
due to high unemployment. He essentially said if
you do not do the stimulus I will do QE-2.

Geithner recommended more stimulus. It is Congress
who insists on cutting more workers and laying more
people off. This is exactly what happens when one
cuts spending.

Just look at what is happening in the states. The
newly minted Republican governors are cut, cut and cutting.
Guess what people at all levels are being laid off.
This is keeping Unemployment high along with Companies
continuing to lay off workers.

[Bandit]

3. Of course Republicans are doing everything in their power to stop the recovery

Maybe even make things worse than they were before Obama. Then they turn around and blame Obama and the Democrats, and the Democrats always believe them...:shrug:

[mmonk]

2. It could be because they aren't very serious,

just seriously dangerous.