I hope the President reads today's Paul Krugman and I hope it hurts

[BurtWorm]

After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?

On Monday, we got the answer: he announced a pay freeze for federal workers. This was an announcement that had it all. It was transparently cynical; it was trivial in scale, but misguided in direction; and by making the announcement, Mr. Obama effectively conceded the policy argument to the very people who are seeking — successfully, it seems — to destroy him.

So I guess we are, in fact, seeing what Mr. Obama is made of...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/opinion/03krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss





Ouch!


Wake up, Mr. President. Whoever you're listening to, listen to someone else!

[Barack_America]

1. It's not possible to sell only a piece of one's soul.

[Binka]

22. Right. That is Akin To Being Partially Pregnant

It is the whole MAGILLA or nothing.

[Tippy]

2. A while back I began sending a copy of just this sorta of information

to the WH.Just a brief description and a link, along with my request. Is anyone else doing something similar?

[ProfessionalLeftist]

10. Yep. At least weekly. n/t

[liberalmuse]

3. Very disappointing.

I've sort of been irritated with Krugman off and on the past couple of years, but the guy has already proven himself to be very credible and consistent. He certainly kept me going through the Bush II years. I guess I'd better wake up and smell the coffee, eh? As a longtime defender of President Obama, I'm not understanding what I'm seeing, you know? I'm beginning to wonder if he's just all bluster and no muster. :(

[mmonk]

4. Me too.

But his handlers will say Krugman is just one of those crazy liberals and pay it no mind.

[Poboy]

16. Correction, He's of the "Professional Left". -nt

[vi5]

5. He won't read it. It's not Brooks or Broder..

...or Scarborough or Matthews or anyone on Fox News. Those seem to be the only people he views as having any credibility about anything.

[olegramps]

6. His lack of fortitude has left him alienated by both Republicans and Democrats.

I don't know if he will be able to resurrect himself. It appears that we elected a wimp that has no desire to challenge the Republicans. In fact it appears that we have only a handful of Democrats that actually represent the working class. My sincere hope is that a new Democratic Party can be formed from the leadership of the unions that will gain the election of representatives that actually represent the working class. It is time for a massive rebellion in the party that has become the worker's worst enemy. Its time to kick these DINOs out and get some real representation and that includes Obama.

[pacalo]

11. A working class party sounds good to me. That would represent the majority right there.

[coalition_unwilling]

15. I'm with you in spirit,, but I must point out that labor unions in the U.S.

only represent about 14% of the workforce currently. Thus, looking to the labor unions to lead the way to a new working class-centric party may be asking a bit much right now. Not sure where that leaves us.

[olegramps]

47. Unions are the only hope for the working class.

The jobs that are created must be protected from being out-sourced. I could only shake my head when President Obama talks about digging us out of this mess by talking about green technology being the solution. Any technology that is created will out-sourced the moment that it becomes profitable.

I can only conclude that the end result will be a return to the two classes that existed prior to the Great Depression. You only have to look at what is being proposed by the Cat Food Commission. They are not only opposed to increasing taxation of the wealthy, they are proposing staggering cuts for the wealthiest along with cuts in Social Security benefits and an increase in the age of retirement. Kids are going to wake up and find that they have been born into virtual servitude will no hope for a decent life style. Management did a great job of destroying the unions with their propaganda that unions were the working classes enemies and management would take good care of them. They took care of them alright. They even got the working class to support right to work laws that were designed solely to destroy unions. When the workers wake up and realize their situation is hopeless, perhaps they will see that their only hope is to organize. Workers don't have any representation in Washington. The handful that actually support labor are drowned out by the DINOs that are bought and paid for corporate minions.

[coalition_unwilling]

48. I'm a former shop steward, so I'm with you in spirit. Over the past 50 years,

the percentage of the U.S. work force that is covered by collective bargaining agreements has declined precipitously from about 30% to just over 14%. Even so, unions (or the threat of unions) still scare the shit out of the capitalist elite. But organizing is hard work, which may expalin why the major unions in the AFL-CIO let it slide. Easier to lobby Congress for labor-friendly legislation than to get out in the trenches with the 21st-century proletariat and organize them. (The SEIU has been doing a better job of organizing in the past 10 years, I think.)

Having come of age during Reagan's first term and having watched him bust a union (the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization) and get away with it (without the AFL-CIO and Teamsters calling a general strike and shutting the country down), I blame organized labor as much as I blame the capitalist elite. When Reagan busted PATCO, the battle lines in the new class war were drawn and organized labor to its everlasting shame shrank from the fight.

[cilla4progress]

17. I just wrote back to the auto-emails I get from

OFA and asked them to quit sending me emails...that I'm very disappointed in Obama. Pretty speeches, nice. Action, what I expected. Even if only symbolic. Who KNOWS what Obama's strategy is - maybe he senses the country is a tinder-keg right now and he needs to cool it off... but that's an overly simplistic strategy. I expected better.

[Javaman]

7. he won't. his yes men will make sure of that.

like the great oz, he is surrounded by a curtain of illusion.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

8. whitehouse.gov - 'contact us' - upper right corner

"http://elll nobody reads that stuff!"

Somebody probably sifts through it occasionally. Maybe you'll get lucky. What can it hurt?

SEND HIM the article with a snippet. :hi:

[ProfessionalLeftist]

12. letter to whitehouse.gov

"Whatever is going on inside the White House, from the outside it looks like moral collapse." -Paul Krugman

LINK:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/opinion/03krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Short link:

http://nyti.ms/fZWoaD

I'm sure you must have a file on me by now, as often as I send emails to this what seems to be a black hole.

Nonetheless I continue sending them perhaps naively believing someone reads them. Particularly the President. Myself and my mother still await the apology for being called "greedy" by the abusive Alan Simpson. Since that has not been forthcoming I assume the President agrees with his remarks. He uttered them again just the other day. Thanks for the insult.

A snip from the above article is below. This is how you look to your base, Mr. President - those who ushered you into office. You may want to be concerned about this. But I guess since we're just 'greedy' maybe not:

"After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?

On Monday, we got the answer: he announced a pay freeze for federal workers. This was an announcement that had it all. It was transparently cynical; it was trivial in scale, but misguided in direction; and by making the announcement, Mr. Obama effectively conceded the policy argument to the very people who are seeking — successfully, it seems — to destroy him.

... The real question is what Mr. Obama and his inner circle are thinking. Do they really believe, after all this time, that gestures of appeasement to the G.O.P. will elicit a good-faith response?

What’s even more puzzling is the apparent indifference of the Obama team to the effect of such gestures on their supporters. One would have expected a candidate who rode the enthusiasm of activists to an upset victory in the Democratic primary to realize that this enthusiasm was an important asset. Instead, however, Mr. Obama almost seems as if he’s trying, systematically, to disappoint his once-fervent supporters, to convince the people who put him where he is that they made an embarrassing mistake.

Whatever is going on inside the White House, from the outside it looks like moral collapse — a complete failure of purpose and loss of direction."

Regards,

[Mimosa]

21. ^ Great letter. I hope the message gets through. ^ n/t

[ProSense]

9. I hope Obama listens to Krugman

when he's making sense about the economy, not when he's playing political analyst. His pieces only serve to depress people who are already without hope, but serve no political purpose.

[donco6]

13. Yeah, he should do a "happy" piece once in a while!

All this depressing shit is . . . depressing. And after all, economics is only in your head. "Think happy and you'll BE happy!"

[ProSense]

39. You may have missed them, but

they're not all negative

Krugman:

Health reform is back from the dead. Many Democrats have realized that their electoral prospects will be better if they can point to a real accomplishment. Polling on reform — which was never as negative as portrayed — shows signs of improving. And I’ve been really impressed by the passion and energy of this guy Barack Obama. Where was he last year?

<...>

You seemed to have also missed my point.

[BurtWorm]

14. If Obama listened, that would serve a purpose.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rhett o rick]

45. I agree. People just shouldnt be depressed. The Pres is cutting Social Security

benefits and giving 0.8 trillion to the rich. Nothing to be depressed about here.

I wonder, do you ever see the poverty around you, or are you so far above it that you can just over look it.

The ruling class doesnt specifically want to kill us, they just dont care if we die.

[hfojvt]

18. Is that today?

I could have sworn I read it yesterday on DU.

Of course, for me 'yesterday' might be 3 a.m. on Friday morning.

While I can appreciate Krugman's title, I think Paul is wrong to key on the wage freeze. If he was talking about the Bush tax cuts or the deficit commission, then it would make more sense. But the wage freeze? Really Paul? The wage freeze sets you off?

1. The wage freeze probably has the support of most Americans.
2. I support it. I want the President to fight for working people, but not necessarily highly-paid working people.
3. No it is not huge, but it is symbolic. It shows that the President is NOT the one digging is his heels and refusing to do what is right for the country because of partisan ideology.
4. It sets the stage perfectly. Having asked Government workers to sacrifice in the name of deficit reduction, to also insist that rich people make a small sacrifice as well, by ending their Bush tax cuts.

It would have been nice if Krugman has used his own bully pulpit to hammer Republicans for their obstinate intransigence over the issue of tax cuts, rather than hammering Obama for doing something fairly reasonable.

[saracat]

19. This really angered me. The average federal worker, NOT political appointee makes

between $38,000 and $63, 000. These are real middle class workers.They are NOT the elite or the wealthy. Nothing is being done about the "Bonuses" or freebies to the political. Before you cheer the wage freeze you might inform yourself as to who thse people are!

[hfojvt]

23. I know who those people are

$63,000 is an excrement load of money if you ask me. 40% of HOUSEHOLDS make less than $40,000 a year, and "if there is a lower class, then I am in it." I make $12,000 a year after I pay for my insurance. I don't cry for the upper-middle classes trip to Argentina.

Plus, I think they are still getting their automatic step increases.

[saracat]

24. And the majority of them live in one of the most expensive areas of the nation.

Noone can still afford to rent or own in the DC area. Many live way far out in order to compensate. I have a friend that drives an houe and a half BOTH ways to work every day. Many days they sleep in their offices and work around the clock.There are no vacations that are not interupted by conference calls. They also vontribute for health insurance. and have to pay for their own parking at hundreds of dollars a month.And I am only quoting the median range. There are tons of secretaries and entry level positions that make far less, and they do have to contribute o healthcare.I know federal employess that are going without dental care because they can't afford it and those that can no longer pay for houses they have had for years because of rising medical bills, and heating and grocery expenses.
These federal workers are the unsung heroes. They work because of their dedication to their jobs and this nation not because of alligence to a candidate or political party.Many could have left and been much better compensated by private industry but they stay.If you defend union workers, you should defnd the federal workers as well.

The Federal workers are the worker bees of the govdrnment and they are our brothers and sisters in this struggle.We are all in this together.

[hfojvt]

26. sure they could leave and make more money in the private sector

that's what they say, and they may even believe it. Back in 1986 I was a GS-9 and my co-workers all said that I, as a mathematician, could make more money in the private sector. A GS-9.1 makes $41,563 a year, without locality bumps. Here's what I have made in the private sector

1. graduate school - $6,000 per year for two years plus a worthless MA from UNL
2. college instructor - $8,100 for ten months
3. self employed for seven years - < $0
4. satellite dish factory for two years - $11,232 per year
5. part-time janitor for a year (usually seven days a week) - $8,580 per year
6. then I got a huge raise, by finding another job and forcing my employer to bid to keep me - $11,154 per year
7. factory temp for 3 years about $15,000 - $17,500 per year
8. citibank for six months - $23,000 per year (until I got fired)
9. part-time janitor $10.69 - 14 per hour with half-benefits)

I might also note that I make semi-decent money now, because I work for the GOVERNMENT. But at no time have I ever gotten close to what a GS-9 makes. I also might note that except for jobs #4, 8 and 9 none of the other jobs had any benefits. No paid holidays, no paid vacation, no paid sick leave, no health insurance, and no retirement. In job #4 I did get a whole week of vacation after working for a year with nothing, and I got paid holidays after 90 days. I think I took two days of vacation before they laid me off and paid me for the rest.

So my free advice to anybody who buys that propaganda - make sure you get one of those better jobs before you jump off the good job train, because it can be impossible to get back on.

[Hello_Kitty]

40. Have you thought about how this country will be when gov't workers are paid the same as Walmart?

Think about that when you're driving around and the traffic lights are working as they should.

[hfojvt]

42. right, a two year freeze is gonna make that happen

"My God, Jim, we're talking about Armageddon!!"

[Hello_Kitty]

43. The constant pushing of anti-government propaganda will.

Have you not noticed how many government functions are being privatized all over the country?

[Hello_Kitty]

25. You are helping to catapult RW propaganda

"Gubmint workers are overpaid" is the new favorite meme. I'm shocked at how many so-called progressives are taking it up.

[hfojvt]

27. yeah well it becomes hard to not believe it

when they make 5 times as much as I do.

I tend to be more concerned about people below the median income than I am about people above the median income even if they are not way, way, way above the median income.

[saracat]

28. Well, as one who has no job at all, and no liklihood of finding one, as both my

husband and I watch our retirement disappear and risk our home as we borrow against all we have, I STILL do not hate the government workers.We are all in this together.

[Hello_Kitty]

33. We both live in AZ, where Sal DiCiccio and others have waged a jihad against all gov't workers.

I don't think these people who celebrate the federal wage freeze understand how it helps the Right in its goal to dismantle all public services and seize the commons for corporations.

[Hello_Kitty]

30. Which is exactly what our plutocratic overlords want you to do.

Fight over scraps.

[hfojvt]

37. I don't seem to be the only one fighting here

The $80,000 people sure are fighting to get their scraps and they have much of DU fighting on their side. I happen to be on the other side, but I am not the only one fighting. It would be nice if the people who had good jobs to look down and say "You know what, I really am better off than many people in this country, so I am happy to do my part to help."

Here's a little thought-experiment. Suppose a company has seven employees. One is a manager, who makes $80,000 a year and the other six are floor workers who each make $20,000. So the whole payroll is $200,000. If they all get a 3% raise, then the company is spending another $6,000. However that $6,000 is divided up with 40% going to one person and the other 60% divided between the other six. Do this for ten years and notice that society is becoming more unequal. Now the manager makes $107,513.31 and the floor person only makes $26,878.33. Management used to make $60,000 more than the floor worker, but they now make over $80,000 more.

In one sense, things are no more unequal. Management still makes only 4 times as much as ordinary workers, but I think the dollars matter too. With that extra $20,000 more, management can buy itself a new car, or several trips to Europe or Hawaii.

Now you say that I should not object to a big chunk of money going to him since my hypothetical manager is just a middle class working stiff like me. But I do not buy it. I am gonna fight for the $20,000 people and not for the $80,000 person every time, because I think that is another class divide and in a relative sense that $80,000 person is also a "have more".

[Hello_Kitty]

38. How are you fighting for lower paid workers by supporting the wage freeze?

Your hypothetical example fails because that's not the situation we're in. The savings from the wage freeze are not going to be passed directly to us poor folks.

And realize that you are helping the RW in their war against the public services and public ownership of the commons. They hate all government workers and want to privatize everything. This 'gubmint workers are overpaid' meme is one of the ways they are selling their toxic ideas.

[hfojvt]

44. I didn't say it was the situation we are in

but it shows which side I am on. I am on the side of the 40% of households who make less than $40,000. Not on the side of a worker who has a job making over $60,000. Thus, I am simply not upset about it. I don't think it means the end of the world or a total failure of the Obama administration. Krugman may see things differently because of the amount of money that he makes. I have a different perspective, and I laid out why I think it is a good idea back in my first post in this thread.

[Poboy]

31. This is how we get divided and they slice us up.

They got regular people to despise unions by making people jealous of their benefits and wages.
Rather than see those jobs as lifting the overall general wage appreciation and benefits, the corporatists got you conned into tearing them down and calling them greedy.

[hfojvt]

41. I think we get divided another way

The people who have good jobs, go out and live well and don't really give a rat's patootie about those who don't have good jobs except to rail against them when those poor fools don't understand how giving an extra $1,000 to me really benefits all of us. That we are all in this together. I get another $1,000 (or if I am a unionized baseball player, another $100,000) and some of that will trickle down to you, somehow.

See, because I don't get out there and protest for THEM, that makes me divisive, especially after all they have done for ME.

Wait, what did they do for me again?

[Poboy]

50. This is true as well. Down in the south, where there is little union presence,

I can only say it is the petty jealousy and the desire to pull those greedy workers down to their level. They are told/believe that those greedy workers are driving up company costs.
Meanwhile, they are really calling for their own lowered wages.

[Brickbat]

29. So you're in favor of people being lowered to your level, instead of supporting higher wages and

working to get yourself to that level? I'm not clear on your objection.

[Hello_Kitty]

32. Seriously. Some people are so eager to accelerate the race to the bottom. eom

[hfojvt]

34. I do not believe a trickle down theory

If somebody making $90,000 gets even a 1.4% pay raise that does not lift me up in any way, particularly not if I am paying for it with my taxes, or at least helping to. It's not about lowering anybody. What it is about is not giving $1,000 checks to people who are already better off than 70% of the rest of us.

[sudopod]

51. I make 12000 before I pay for insurance.

I think cutting their pay is bullshit.

[Renew Deal]

35. What if he disagrees?

Which I'm sure he does.

[Greyhound]

36. Behind a subscription wall, Is this his Bourbon Economics piece? n/t

[laughingliberal]

46. K & R nt

[area51]

49. In order for it to hurt,

Obama would need a conscience, and to care about someone other than himself.