Paul Krugman: "When the Grown-ups are back in charge..."

[joeybee12]

That's the last line of today's column. I think that's a great bumper sticker: "Put the Grown-ups back in charge." Says it all. So does "Re-Defeat Bush in 2004."

Here's the link to the column.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/29/opinion/29KRUG.html

And part of it....


Fistfuls of Dollars
By PAUL KRUGMAN


It's all coming true. Before the war, hawks insisted that Iraq was a breeding ground for terrorism. It wasn't then, but it is now. Meanwhile, administration apologists blamed terrorists, not tax cuts, for record budget deficits. In fact, before the war terrorism-related spending was relatively small — less than $40 billion in fiscal 2002. But the costs of a "bring 'em on" foreign policy are now looming large indeed.

The direct military cost of the occupation is $4 billion a month, and there's no end in sight. But that's only part of the bill.

This week Paul Bremer suddenly admitted that Iraq would need "several tens of billions" in aid next year. That remark was probably aimed not at the public but at his masters in Washington; he apparently needed to get their attention.

It's no mystery why. The Coalition Provisional Authority, which has been operating partly on seized Iraqi assets, is about to run out of money. Initial optimism about replenishing the authority's funds with oil revenue has vanished: even if sabotage and looting subside, the dilapidated state of the industry means that for several years much of its earnings will have to be reinvested in repair work.

At a deeper level, the wobbling credibility of the occupation undermines that occupation's financing. American officials still hope to raise money by selling off state-owned enterprises to foreign investors, though they have backed off on proposals to sell power plants and other utilities. But after the bombing of U.N. headquarters, who will buy? Officials have also floated the idea of pledging future oil revenues in return for loans, but it's far from clear whether an occupying power has the right to make such deals, let alone whether they would be honored by whoever is running Iraq a few years from now.

[mjb4]

1. SLAP THAT MONKEY! '04

I can see him getting upset and calling the sign an attack on the president, but he would also be admitting he was a MONKEY!

[Spazito]

2. Good article, as usual, from Krugman..

I enjoy reading his columns, an island of sanity in a world gone mad.

[Jack The Tab]

3. I love this man!!!

He has really done the best job, of almost anyone in the media, of exposing these frauds for what they are.

[Garage Queen]

4. "...even the government of a superpower ..."

"can't simultaneously offer tax cuts equal to 15 percent of revenue, provide all its retirees with prescription drugs and single-handedly take on the world's evildoers — single-handedly because we've alienated our allies."

Amen, brother.

[Zero Gravitas]

5. WTF?

American officials still hope to raise money by selling off state-owned enterprises to foreign investors, though they have backed off on proposals to sell power plants and other utilities.

WTF? I though von Rumsfeld said that Iraq belonged to the liberated Iraqi people, and now we are going to sell their assets to "foreign investors" (e.g American/Multinational Corporations)?? That'll go over well with the Iraqi people I'm sure... but of course, I forgot, they are mostly poor, so their opinions don't matter to the likes of Bush* and Cheney.

[birdman]

6. Great line

Krugman nails it again.

[gratuitous]

7. Oh why do you all hate America so?

Don't you know that by pointing out failures, you cause them to happen? Sort of like observing the quantum process and changing the outcome by doing so. :crazy:

And out of 33 combat-ready brigades, 21 of them are deployed? So, where does a brigade in Iraq rotate for R&R? Liberia? Afghanistan? Reminds me of the old joke about the battle-weary troops. Their commander tells them that they're going to all get 24 hour passes. The men shout hooray! And a bottle of beer! Hooray! And a change of underwear! The men are delirious with joy. Then the commander says they can't leave camp during their 24 hours. There is indeed one bottle of beer for the entire group. And the underwear change? Able will change with Baker, Charlie will change with Delta, etc.

[Brotherjohn]

8. Krugman's column begs comparisons between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R...

... before that empire's fall.

Admittedly, we are (hopefully) still a democracy and that is where Russia had yet to venture. We have the power (hopefully) to overturn our leader every 4 years at the ballot box... or at the ATM, or something.

But the ever-escalating military budget, threatening the very economic stability of the country and the ability to provide the basics for its citizens... that smacks of 1985 U.S.S.R.

And the imperial involvement in a war in Central Asia, losing more troops and turning more into a quagmire every day... that smacks of 1985 U.S.S.R.

[gristy]

9. Now THAT'S FUNNY!

We have the power (hopefully) to overturn our leader every 4 years at the ballot box... or at the ATM, or something.

:)