Krugman: Invisible Green Triumphs

[DanTex]

Like a number of commentators, I’ve been struck by how people on the right know, just know, that Obamacare has been a dismal failure. More than 15 million Americans have gained coverage, costs are well below predictions, and employment growth has accelerated since the “job-killing” law went into effect — but they know none of that, because all they hear from their preferred information sources is tales of disaster.

Some things I’ve been reading lately remind me that there’s another major Obama initiative that is the subject of similar delusions: the promotion of green energy. Everyone on the right knows that the stimulus-linked efforts to promote solar and wind were a bust — Solyndra! Solyndra! Benghazi! — and in general they still seem to regard renewables as hippie-dippy stuff that will never go anywhere.

So it comes as something of a shock when you look at the actual data, and discover that solar and wind energy consumption has tripled under Obama.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/14/invisible-green-triumphs/

[PatrickforO]

1. You know, Obama has done some pretty good stuff. I just can't get over TPP.

[daleanime]

2. +1

[DanTex]

3. I'm on-the-fence-ish about TPP, but I agree that was not his finest progressive moment.

[MH1]

4. Because, you know, a Republican president wouldn't have done TPP.

[PatrickforO]

6. Sure a Republican president would have. That's the point - there's absolutely nothing progressive

about TPP. It is a bald giveaway of the power of elected local and state officials, has no protections for labor or for the environment and like other 'free trade' agreements will end up costing the United States millions of good jobs. That's why when Obama started touting it, I wondered, what is he THINKING???

Seems like a lot of other progressive people asked the same question, given the opposition he's faced from his own party.

[MH1]

7. So if TPP isn't a differentiator, why are you bringing it up on THIS thread?

or in other words, maybe you should figure out how to "get over" TPP (your words) because this president does OTHER things that are much better than the republican would.

If you're going to get TPP-like stuff regardless, we ought to be looking at the differentiators, don't you think?

And like randome says below, given that Obama is pretty good on all this other stuff, maybe there's something we don't know about TPP.

But either way, I don't see what the point is of bringing up TPP on a thread about Obama's contribution on the environmental front.

[PatrickforO]

9. I bring it up because presidents are judged by their entire performance. As to the environment,

if you read the WikiLeaks versions of the actual TPP show quite definitely that environmental regulations can and will be compromised at the national, state and local levels with TPP's ISDS provisions.

You should note that I (or other posters) can and will bring up things we think relevant on any thread.

[randome]

5. When I match TPP against his amazing progressive accomplishments, I am left with one conclusion...

...that maybe I'm not as knowledgeable about the complexities of the TPP as I thought.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[PatrickforO]

10. Well, I'm kind of wonky because I'm an economist, and I seriously believe that the ISDS provision of

TPP is SO bad in terms of its potential to compromise our environmental regulations at the national, state and local levels that it must necessarily be set alongside any environmental positives from this administration to really get a fair perspective on Obama as a 'green' president.

[Adrahil]

8. POSUCS strikes again! nt