Economist Robert Frank on Rachel Maddow -- "The answer is straightforward."

[Armstead]

(Paraphrased) It isn't all that complicated, and the solution is at hand. Inject some demand in the economy via government programs. That would put people to work and stimulate business. And lenders are eager to finance it at low interest. The people are available, the machines are idle and ready and materials are at a relativly low cost these days.

Unfortunately that is not the political tone these days.


-------

my comment: nnnnnnnnnnngh. Where are our leaders on this? Pimping for deficit reduction with the GOP instead of selling this to the American people.

[gkhouston]

1. "What we're doing now is just unimaginably stupid."

Can't say it plainer than that.

[Armstead]

2. yeah I forgot to mention that part.

[alp227]

3. K&R, will find & post video here later nt

[Armstead]

5. Also, it will be run at midnite EST

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. Why do you (collective) think the market has been crashing for the last 4 days?

We told the global economy that we were tying austerity measures (without revenue increases) to the debt ceiling.

That said in effect "the employer of last resort is no longer hiring".

I hope they enjoy their 5 week vacation. They may not recognize this country when they get back.

/madmax

[BeyondGeography]

6. Costs $25 billion to borrow $1 trillion and $250 billion for another percentage point rise in

unemployment. Ten times higher. Did I hear that right?

Yet another bit of info we might have shared with the public while this bullshit saga was playing out.

[Armstead]

7. I caught that, but was a little confused, I must admit

[Lifelong Protester]

8. Yes, I thought that was a VERY good point to be shared.

[Armstead]

10. true, but it'll get lost in all the Voodoo Math that's going around

[girl gone mad]

17. We don't even need to borrow.

We have a sovereign currency so the government can spend without the need for revenue or borrowing. They did it to help bail out the banks.

[Chimichurri]

9. It's by design.

[applegrove]

11. For some reason I have hope there will be an infrastructure program in the works from the Dems.

[Armstead]

12. I hope you are correct

[KoKo]

13. I never understood why Obama gave up on the "Shovel Ready Jobs" right after Inauguration...

At first I thought he had so much to deal with the shit that Bush left him with the Market/Global Bankster Fraud Meltdown...and then I thought it was because he was honoring Ted Kennedy by getting the Health Care Bill for All pushed through Congress...that it was just too much on his plate.

But, as I saw him cozying up to the same folks on Wall Street who helped cause this Crisis...and even putting them in his administration...and time when by and no prosecutions occurred to the criminals and only Bernie Madoff went to prison...and more time went by and Tim Geithner was all over the place defending that we had gone through a crisis talking for the Pres..and well...the rest you know.

Somehow the "Shovel Ready Jobs" he went on an on about in his Campaign Speeches seemed to get buried.

Someone put the hex or halt on those jobs programs and decided to do two very WEAK Stimuli...that mostly went to the Banks...and somehow it all disappeared...

Something happened...but, I've got to assume he didn't really believe in "Shovel Ready Jobs" but that his clever Speech Writer thought it sounded good and had recently Googled FDR and the Great Depression and somehow read about the WPA and thought it sounded good at the time for a Presidential Candidate to say in a speech. :eyes:

[Armstead]

14. There was some of that...Where I live we're getting Rural Broadband Network from it

and numerous other projects that have had a positive impact, including creating and/or saving jobs.

What cheesed me off was 1)he described it as a temporary "necessary evil" and 2)He backed off almost immediately and didn't keep hammering home that the stimulus was doing good and helping the economy.

[KoKo]

16. That's good news for you.... One thing though...here in NC

his FCC Chair is trying to shut out community Broadband where a local NC Community got together and put in high speed for their small city and Rural. Another Community in NC did the same. AT&T didn't like it and the RW Chamber of Commerce Groups got a bill in to stop them.

So...it's good you got something out of the Stimulous...but local communities here who put together their own Broadband are getting cut out by ATT and Verizon.. :shrug:

Anyway...glad to seem some stimulous did go to some communities.

:hi:

[StarsInHerHair]

20. take back precinct committee membership

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1640640

[Armstead]

22. Here also...

...communities all along the path of this network are also forming local publicly-owned municipal utilities to build and own the local networks that will go to individual homes and businesses.

Good to live in a blue state, I guess.

[tex-wyo-dem]

15. Well, here's at least part of the problem...

(IMO, of course)...

As soon as it became clear that Obama was going to get the nomination in 2008, immediately the RW mobilized a smear campaign to convince the crazies that he was a socialist, marxist, maoist, communist, 60's radical (remember Bill Ayers), black panther, etc, etc, etc....

Although this was all crazy-talk to most, it effectively put a bug in people's ear. As soon as Obama tried to do anything even remotely progressive, the echo chamber stood ready to scream "I told you so.". They will stop at nothing to destroy Obama's presidency and I think it may have something to do with why he hasn't taken bolder measures.

The other problem is that big money owns the media and he message (and all of Washington for that matter).

[KoKo]

18. Could be...but he had Dem House and Senate that many of us worked hard to get for him...

Why didn't he and Biden (who had great Senate Powers from having served so long) use the power?

That's what so many of us are wondering. Plus, he ran for election for almost two years...and had Center for American Progress (Center Left Think Tank) folks advising him and they for sure knew what the Repugs were about because I was on their E-Mail Blog List for three years and they had the scoop on the criminal element of the Repugs.

He had Tom Daschle who had been Senate Leader over Read for Years...advising him. And, Obama, himself, was in the Senate for two years.

So...he had to have known what he'd be up against. How could he not? :shrug:

[tex-wyo-dem]

21. I know what you mean and wish I could answer that...

He (and all Dems for that matter) are up against a massive media and propoganda infrastructure that are very much against government in general, particularly progressive government. Early on in his presidency, Obama tried to subvert the echo chamber by giving televised speaches and other media events constantly. He has also made several attempts at showing just how radical the rethugs are (corporate jets was the lastest), all in an effort to win the message game. He seems to have abandoned most of these efforts, maybe, rightly or wrongly, thinking they were losing the battle,

[StarsInHerHair]

19. our 'leaders' are busy with Hooverism, that path has led the UK into a double

dip into recession...........really verging towards Depression

[alp227]

23. VIDEO OF INTERVIEW WITH R FRANK

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#44028185

[Armstead]

24. Thanks