Krugman: The Healtcare Choice & a Note on the Economy

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

January 22, 2010, 9:56 am
The Choice

So, House Democrats have a choice: do they pass the Senate bill, or do they go back to the drawing board and spend several months cobbling together a plan that’s worse in almost every dimension, generating thousands of stories about hapless Democrats — and almost surely find that Senate Republicans block the new plan, too.

Guess which way they seem to be leaning.

Maybe they’ll come to their senses over the next few days. It would be really helpful, of course, if Democrats actually had a party leader — you know, the president or someone.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/the-choice/


January 21, 2010, 5:31 pm
A Note on the Economy

Quite aside from everything else going on, the economic recovery isn’t looking very good. Unemployment claims are stalled at a level that bodes ill for for the overall employment picture (don’t count on falling unemployment until that number falls well below 400,000). And the 10-year bond rate, which is my personal index of the market’s expectations about recovery, has been falling off again after rising for several weeks.

No reason to panic — but it does look as if this recovery is going to be jobless for quite a while.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/a-note-on-the-economy/

[VMI Dem]

1. "if Democrats actually had a party leader — you know, the president or someone"

Yeah.

[johan helge]

2. Krugman's not too impressed. Seems like he's right.

"Maybe they’ll come to their senses over the next few days."

[TheKentuckian]

3. Rolling out Krugman every damned day ain't fixing the bill

He can't or won't come down from 50,000 feet and look at what this bill does. He's seems like many here, just pass something.

The damn bill could be all about clubbing baby seals on the head but if it is titled "Health Care" then by all means get that shit passed.

Medical inflation, loss of benefits, loss of coverage, increased government spending, and retirements will force action regardless of political will within 10 years, there will be no choice because the percentage of GDP will be way too high to even pretend to punt.

Krugman should use his considerable skills to project what massive systemic pain will happen over the next several years and see what time it really is.

A generation my high yella ass, this thing is coming to a head fast and everyone knows it.