Everything you need to know about Krugman!!!

[chiburb]

From the New Yorker, 2 snips and a link:

To many liberals, Krugman is a beacon of sanity in a world gone mad; to many conservatives, he’s an infuriating polemicist who distorts the President’s record. What is beyond dispute is that he attracts plenty of attention; last year, the Washington Monthly hailed Krugman as “the most important political columnist in America.” Certainly his twice-weekly column has been distinguished by diligent research and a keen eye for cant. When the White House was busy distancing itself from crooked self-dealing by corporate executives at Enron, WorldCom, and other major corporations, Krugman reminded us how President Bush benefitted from dubious transactions while he was a director of Harken Energy. When conservative pundits were blaming misguided government regulation for the California energy shortage, he pointed out that the real culprits might be private power generators that deliberately withheld supply to drive up prices. (He turned out to be right.)

As a first-rate economist, Krugman knows how to parse the White House’s figures to get at the underlying reality. In a series of columns, he noted that forty per cent or more of the Bush Administration’s proposed tax cuts would go to the richest one per cent of the population, something that the Administration was eager to deny. Unlike most economists, however, Krugman is rarely content to let his figures talk for him, and the longer he has been at the Times the more outspoken he has become. “The Bush administration is an extremely elitist clique trying to maintain a populist façade,” he wrote in a typical column last fall. “Its domestic policies are designed to benefit a very small number of people—basically those who earn at least $300,000 a year, and really don’t care about either the environment or their less fortunate compatriots.”

http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?030915crbo_books

[Richardo]

1. Has anyone read Krugman's new book yet?

It's next on my list after I finish re-reading Catch-22. :-)

[maha]

2. I've got it and am part-way through it.

The Introduction is ... is ... well, I can't think of the right adjective. Explosive? Most of the book is made up of Krugman articles from the Times, but even if you've read his column the new stuff is worth it.

[Hamlette]

5. the introduction

is frightening. He explains that the GOP is revolutionary and wants to do away with the American way of life. Yup. He convinced me. The GOP (neocons if you must but it's everyone in the GOP in positions of power) wants to do away with all New Deal programs (yep, social security too along with medicaid and medicare and unemployment, flush 'em) they believe the US military should preemptively strike other countries if we want something or just want to scare the rest of the world (no wonder they thought we needed a missle shield). Sounds like world domination to me. They are also anti democratic and religious loonies. The only hopeful thing he says is we can fix all of what they have done but it will take time.

You should never put anyone in charge of the government who hates what that government stands for. Krugman says he's not at all sure Bush understands what the neocons are having him do but he follows them everytime.

I was going to give everyone on my Christmas list the Franken book but now I think I'll give half of the Krugman's. Everyone should read both.

[maha]

6. He convinced me, too.

I've gone from thinking the Bushies were just stupid to realizing they really are trying to take the world apart and make it over to their liking.

[chiburb]

7. Ah Maha!

I usually start Tuesdays and Fridays at your blog, then click to Krugman through your thoughtfully-provided link.
Your work is excellent too!

[maha]

8. BIG SMOOCH

:loveya:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Exactly

There are certain politicians who always evoke in me the response of "What's the catch?"

In other words, even their fairly innocent-sounding proposals contain hidden landmines.

When I lived in Oregon, Bill Sizemore was one such figure. If he had proposed something like changing the shape of the state highway signs, I would have immediately started digging for the dirt behind the proposal.

The Busheviks give me the creeps in the same way. Every move they make is designed to bring the U.S. closer to fascism.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. What is amazing is how easily the Republicans have been able to

follow through with the dismantling of our government by cultivating a large white voting sector which fears the dark hordes. How do we wake these people up and show them that there's worse to fear than welfare queens?

[chiburb]

11. Seems simple to me...

They'll wake up when they realize that under Bushco THEY are on the road to being welfare queens themselves, along with their relatives and neighbors. As Krugman points out, it really is 'class warfare' and those that THINK they're above that (in income and intellect)will soon learn otherwise.
I wonder how far those $400 checks went?

[chiburb]

4. That's what this article is...

A review of his must-read book.

[teryang]

3. Bullseye!

<“The Bush administration is an extremely elitist clique trying to maintain a populist façade,” he wrote in a typical column last fall. “Its domestic policies are designed to benefit a very small number of people—basically those who earn at least $300,000 a year, and really don’t care about either the environment or their less fortunate compatriots.”>