Keith Olbermann, first-order fool?

[Karmadillo]

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh091610.shtml

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

<edit>

OLBERMANN (9/15/10): <edit> Specifically, the Washington Post reports today that McConnell was asked how he would pay for his proposal to extend and add to all the Bush tax cuts, a plan that would nearly double projected deficits over the next ten years, adding four trillion in just the first decade, and more in decades subsequent.

How to pay for four trillion plus? His office told the Post McConnell supports a spending freeze that would save 300 billion dollars. Good, only 3.7 trillion dollars to go, Mr. McConnell!

What a hack! It’s true—McConnell’s proposal would add roughly $4 trillion to the debt over ten years. His spending freeze would only off-set a small part of that revenue loss. But what was wrong with Olbemann’s snark? It was left to poor Ezra Klein to tell his hapless host:

KLEIN: I don’t think people have a sense of what the numbers are here. When we talk about the tax cuts, the Republican plan right now, it would add four trillion dollars to the deficit over the next ten years. Nothing that Obama has done , even if you multiply it by itself a couple times over, has done anything like that. That is five times larger than the stimulus. That is—I think it’s about 15 times larger than what Tarp will end up being, which will only be about 66 billion dollars.So this is a huge increase on the deficit.

And by the way, Obama’s middle class tax plan is about 3.2 trillion on the deficit. So we just went, in a couple of months, from everybody saying the deficit is the most important issue in American politics to should we increase it by three trillion dollars or four trillion dollars? This is what American politics is.

And nobody levels with the American people on it, right? The Republicans don’t say, “We think this is worth four trillion on the deficit.” Obama doesn’t say, “I think it’s worth three trillion on the deficit.” We just sort of swing back and forth between pretending we’re concerned about the deficit and pretending we`re concerned about taxes. And never ever deal as a country with the dissonance between those two positions.

What an idiot. Olbermann had been mocking McConnell for adding $3.7 trillion to the debt. It was left to Klein to explain that Obama’s plan would add $3.2 trillion! For the record, Klein was at his best as he stepped back and drew the larger picture about this piddling distinction. “This is what American politics is,” he scornfully said, to one of its dumbest practitioners.

more...

[blondeatlast]

1. .5 trillion is actually a whale of a lot of money. I like Howler--

but math isn't his strong suit.

[RandomThoughts]

2. That is how people think.

Some topic is on their mind, and that is important,

I have said the deficit is not important, However that does not mean it is ran up to move money to the top, even though the deficit does that.

So the deficit is not important when compared to creating work or basic serves, but it is more important then tax cuts for those with more then they need.



And I am still due beer and travel money and many good experiences, and they will pay.

[blondeatlast]

3. You should know. nt

[RandomThoughts]

8. What context is your comment?

[gort]

4. middle class people like me will spend the money which will create jobs

The rich have and will continue to only hoard the money they get in tax cuts and not spend it or create jobs here in this country. It is because of the oligarchy that jobs and factories are built offshore and the rich only want cheap/slave labor.

There's the distinction.

A middle class tax cut of 3.2 trillion will come back.

A tax giveaway will be just that. 4 trillion given away.

[leveymg]

5. Bottom-line: It's not how much money gov't spends, it's what it buys.

The tax cut route is undirected spending in the form of lost revenues. The GOP wants to give it to the rich, Obama wants it mostly in the hands of the middle-class. Obviously, the latter choice is better. But, nobody is seriously thinking about what the result would be if there were four trillion in targeted federal spending directed at jobs creation, investment in green energy, and education/health - in other words, all those things we elected Obama and the Democratic Congress to carry into reality.

What would happen if we all just insisted upon what we really want?

[blondeatlast]

6. $500 000 000 000 seems like a lot of money to me. Howler's good,

but not at math. And Olbermann isn't a fool he knew what that kind of money means.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

7. Time to cut military spending and time to stop corporate welfare.