Structural change: "Tragedy wrapped in a weird complacency"--DKos

[Louisiana1976]

Paul Krugman posted a very short blurb in his blog on Friday, entitled: "Good news is bad news." It was about how even a small bit of good news (in this instance, a monthly drop of two-tenths of a percent in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' U.3 Unemployment Index) about how our nation's worst-since-the-Great-Depression unemploment situation "deflates the sense of urgency" to do something about it. Krugman sees it as "a tragedy, wrapped in a weird complacency."

The fact remains that realistic projections show unemployment staying disastrously high for many years. The chart above (diarist's note: see link in previous paragraph, above this blockquote) is from the minutes of the Fed's Open Market Committee. Unemployment above 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011; above 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Krugman also noted Goldman Sachs' recent comments about this, and I posted a diary on Thursday, which included Bernanke's projections relating to a prolonged period of unacceptably high joblessness--prior to the release of November's unemployment report--too: "Goldman: 10%+ Jobless In '11; States Short $15bln Benefits Now."

snip

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/6/811426/-Structural-Change:-Tragedy-Wrapped-In-A-Weird-Complacency

[valerief]

1. I think the elites are waiting for us excess Americans to exercise the

Republican Healthcare Plan. Die quickly.

[dysfunctional press]

2. any job gains made in 2011 and 2012 will be attributed to the repug congress elected in 2010.

and any caskets still coming back from afghanistan will be attributed to obama...

not a good combo platter for to run on/against in 2012.

people will have been hurting for awhile by then, and will be chomping at the bit for some different change.

[tabatha]

3. Does anyone know what the very good news was that

Markos M was talking about last week? Did it just disappear?