Krugman's analysis: "America's lost decade" where policies were skewed toward the wealthy

[kpete]

Krugman’s analysis of what he calls “America’s lost decade” where policies were skewed toward the wealthy

..............

Why do a small number of rich people exert so much influence in what is supposed to be a democracy? Campaign contributions are only part of the story. Equally if not more important is the network of billionaire-financed think tanks, lobbying groups and so on that shapes public discourse. And then there’s the revolving door: It’s depressingly normal for former officials from both parties to take jobs with big banks, corporations and consulting firms, and the prospect of such employment can’t help but influence policy while they’re still in office.

[...] the news media [has] echoed [their] priorities, treating them not as the preferences of one small group of voters but as the only responsible position. As Vox’s Ezra Klein noted at the time, when it came to budget deficits it seemed that “the usual rules of reportorial neutrality” didn’t apply; reporters openly advocated policy views that were at best controversial, not widely shared by the general public and, we now know, substantively wrong.

But they were the policy views of the wealthy. And when it comes to treatment of differing policy views, the media often treats some Americans as more equal than others.


https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/12/27/1908072/-Abbreviated-pundit-roundup-America-s-lost-decade-2019-champions-and-more
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/26/opinion/warren-campaign-donors.html

[bluedye33139]

1. I'm a boring moderate, but I think that we went too far

toward giving the wealthiest Americans too much say in our politics, our economy, and our culture. I want the Democratic party to be more progressive, to focus on economic justice, to focus on equality, and to address inequality and the way that our system is structured specifically for the benefit of the wealthiest.

[JonLP24]

2. I couldn't agree more

[appalachiablue]

7. absolutely

[Hermit-The-Prog]

3. Kochland ...

Kochland review: how the Kochs bought America – and trashed it
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/07/kochland-review-koch-brothers-pollution-congress-republicans

[erronis]

4. I'm reading it - excellent. Hate spending $s on something so disgusting, tho.

Too many books on my nightstand are too real, too depressing.

But I don't want to live in the fake delusional trumpland park.

[rickyhall]

5. Under FDR through LBJ taxes controlled the rich.

Repug tax cuts & none collection created the billionaires who now control the government and the media. Even when I was a kid I realized that under Democrats the IRS went after the big shots, while Republican version pursued the little guys. One of the biggest long term Repug lies was that they are the champions of small business.

[Major Nikon]

8. So some degree, yes

But even then there was no shortage of useful idiots who could be convinced by the rich to work against their own self interests.

It's always been an uphill battle for the working class to get even a small piece of the pie and as soon as they manage to pull even that off there are interests working against it from the beginning.

The difference is back then you could call out the assholery and the assholes would be shamed by it. Today they are viewed as heroes by a larger class of useful idiots that have managed to somehow get more useful and more idiotic.

[dalton99a]

6. Kick

[Hekate]

9. KnR

[Poiuyt]

10. As usual, Paul Krugman is spot on

the news media [has] echoed [their] priorities, treating them not as the preferences of one small group of voters but as the only responsible position.

This is a great observation. I don't know why neo-liberal policies are accepted as the norm. Reagan and Thatcher made them popular and now everyone thinks we can't stray from those. Unfortunately, that's when wages began to plateau.