Problems of Reading Comprehension at Zero Hedge

[Hannah Bell]

Dean Baker writes:

I don't like to use this blog to settle personal scores, but I think it is important to clear up a serious misrepresentation that stemmed from an earlier post. Zero Hedge has me advocating default on the national debt because I had the audacity to point out that the world will not end if the U.S. defaults on its debt.

It did not occur to me that anyone could think that saying "the world will not end if we do X," is the same as saying "we should do X," but apparently the folks at Zero Hedge cannot see the distinction....

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/problems-of-reading-comprehension-at-zero-hedge-no-one-advocated-default#comments


Baker's original column here:

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/defaulting-on-the-debt-is-not-the-end-of-the-world

ZH's misrepresentation of Baker's column here:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/dean-baker-lets-just-default



I'm posting this partly because several people have been using Zero Hedge as their "authoritative source" on developments at Fukushima Daiichi.


1) ZH is an anonymously-written economic blog. Because it's anonymous, we can't know the specific interests & connections of the writer(s) involved.

2) However, the writer(s) have made it clear that they are deficit hawks; this includes related support for attacks on social programs.

3) Financial traders have also been known to ramp up the fear factor, or ramp it down, depending on their own pecuniary interests. I think it's instructive to consider the implications in light of ZH's misrepresentation of Baker's column -- in the field of ZH's supposed expertise. ZH's interests favor austerity policies; do they also have bets on the tanking of the Japanese economy?

[dkf]

1. I think for those who are very leery of the bond vigilantes, the people who pooh pooh things are

Tempting fate and may as well be advocating default.

[fasttense]

2. I just don't trust the financial types

who claim the world will end if the US defaults. It's like the foxes claiming everyone will starve if the hens aren't available for their meals.

I don't trust that everything will blow up if we default. Default is an ugly word and I don't want it to happen. But I feel like we have been here too often. How many times has the media and the beltway told us the world was going to end if we didn't....start a war with Iraq, give thieves who call themselves Wall Street bankers bailouts, if we put serious strings on those bailouts, if we pass health care reform and on and on.

It's just that I've heard it all before and I just don't believe it anymore. It's the boy who cried wolf.