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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKrugman: Does Obama Believes in the invisible Bond Vigilantes?
My version of the headline featuring a question mark is a little Obama-friendlier than Krugman's, but I think it's fair.
Lots of chatter about the WSJs account of how the deficit negotiations broke down, although a few fun quotes aside most of it is what we already pretty much knew. But heres a passage that bothered me:
On Dec. 13, Mr. Boehner went to the White House at the presidents request, joking he was going to the woodshed.
The president told him he could choose one of two doors. The first represented a big deal. If Mr. Boehner chose it, the president said, the country and financial markets would cheer. Door No. 2 represented a spike in interest rates and a global recession.
Oh, dear does the president still believe that failure to reach a Grand Bargain will cause an attack by the invisible bond vigilantes, and that this is the reason we should fear the fiscal cliff? How many times do we have to show that this notion is wrong both in theory and empirically? America cant run out of cash (except politically, if Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling); it basically cant experience an interest rate spike unless people see an increased chance of economic recovery and hence a rise in short-term rates. And the people who have been predicting an interest rate spike any day now for four years shouldnt have any credibility at this point.
Oh yeah, and a global recession would surely mean lower, not higher, interest rates. If Obama is still confused about this, it has real-world consequences in particular, it makes him too eager to reach a deal now now now, and hence too willing to concede on fundamental priorities.
Now, this wasnt a direct quote, and we can hope that whoever was talking to the WSJ got it a bit wrong. But not what I wanted to hear about administration thinking at this point.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/guess-who-still-believes-in-invisible-vigilantes/
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)"...the people who have been predicting an interest rate spike any day now for four years shouldnt have any credibility at this point. "
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)What makes these people worse than doomsday mongers is that at least the Mayan calendar people aren't saying that surviving 12/21/12 makes the Mayan calendar prediction even likelier to be true.
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)There seem to be no comments to Krugman's blog.
cthulu2016
(10,960 posts)A direct link to a NYT blog post (like the link in the OP) doesn't have a comments link, but the same post on the main page of the blog does.
But I am drawing a blank on the coments link.
The NYT is always restricting things... maybe only subscribers can see comments now?
amandabeech
(9,893 posts)I always go over 10 or whatever it is pages per month, so I went ahead and sent them money.
I wrote to them yesterday, but no response.
If it keeps up, I guess I'll have to call them after Christmas.
NYT subscriber's comments are often very insiteful--usually beter than the Washington Post's.