Solving the wrong problem

Via Jay Ackroyd, the ever increasingly shrill Doctor Krugman diagnoses the problem:

Has market turmoil left you feeling afraid? Well, it should. Clearly, the economic crisis that began in 2008 is by no means over.

But there's another emotion you should feel: anger. For what we're seeing now is what happens when influential people exploit a crisis rather than try to solve it. [...]


What the market was saying - almost shouting - was, "We're not worried about the deficit! We're worried about the weak economy!" For a weak economy means both low interest rates and a lack of business opportunities, which, in turn, means that government bonds become an attractive investment even at very low yields. If the downgrade of U.S. debt had any effect at all, it was to reinforce fears of austerity policies that will make the economy even weaker. [...]

What would a real response to our problems involve? First of all, it would involve more, not less, government spending for the time being - with mass unemployment and incredibly low borrowing costs, we should be rebuilding our schools, our roads, our water systems and more. It would involve aggressive moves to reduce household debt via mortgage forgiveness and refinancing. And it would involve an all-out effort by the Federal Reserve to get the economy moving, with the deliberate goal of generating higher inflation to help alleviate debt problems.

The usual suspects will, of course, denounce such ideas as irresponsible. But you know what's really irresponsible? Hijacking the debate over a crisis to push for the same things you were advocating before the crisis, and letting the economy continue to bleed.

It's always about sparing the investor class any pain and letting them "keep more of their own money" by eliminating those horribly costly social service programs that make up for some of the exploitation of the ever growing working poor class by the owners. Our society is so sick now. The greedy cretins have multiplied like cockroaches. Mass extinction may be the only answer. Worth a read in full.

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]