I almost fell out of my chair. Is this rich or is this rich?
First, let’s tackle the problem that exists in the present tense: Barack Obama’s policies—economic and otherwise—are disastrous for this republic on every historical and empirical scale. Only in the liberal bubble in which knee-jerk Marxist-socialists like Paul Krugman reside could such a blatant fact be so elusive. And only in such a liberal bubble could Krugman see Republicans’ opposition to Obama’s policy as playing politics. If Krugman sees nothing principled in Republican opposition to Obama’s economic plans, maybe he should return that Nobel Prize in economics.
But now let’s leave the present tense and analyze Krugman fourth-dimensionally. Here’s a liberal Democrat New York Times writer accusing Republicans of opposing the president simply because he’s from the other party. Only someone who has lived on a deserted island from 2000 to the present would not be aware that this is exactly what Democrats did to George W. Bush.
And so forth and so on.
Maybe someone can make the case Paul Krugman just wasn’t following what was going on during the Bush years and simply didn’t know that if George W. Bush said it, libs/Dems refuted it; if Bush proposed it, libs/Dems opposed it; if Bush believed it, libs/Dems rejected it.
But that case would not hold water. Because obviously Krugman knew about the Bash Bush at Any Cost contingent; he was part it. Consider these editorials:
Reckonings; Jerking The Other Knee January 21, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column sees incoming Bush administration reflecting knee-jerk conservatism …
Reckonings; Et Tu, Alan? January 28, 2001
Op-Ed column by Paul Krugman says Alan Greenspan’s most recent testimony before Senate Budget Committee was evasive and often inconsistent; says Greenspan was out of bounds when he voiced his favor for tax cuts over spending increases; says it is not Federal Reserve’s business to support tax cut over spending for government program; says it is disburbing that man who is usually clear thinker tied himself in intellectual knots to find way to say exactly what Pres Bush wants to hear.
Reckonings; Smog and Mirrors January 31, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column contends that Pres Bush is trying to dispel doubts about his legitimacy when he blames pollution controls for California energy crisis and uses crisis to argue for opening Arctic tundra to oil drilling; asserts that that by winning series of striking victories against moderates Bush hopes he can create an ‘illusion of a mandate’ that the election did not give him.
Reckonings; Guns And Bitterness February 4, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says Pres Bush is betraying campaign promises on Medicare and military spending in name of tax cuts; recalls that military personnel overwhelmingly supported Bush, believing they had understanding that he would quickly expand defense spending; adds that Bush administration refuses to rule out raiding Medicare funds to support tax cut
Reckonings; Bums and Rushes February 7, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on Pres Bush’s call for immediate, even retroactive, tax cuts as ‘bum’s rush’ that would run skeptics out of town before they can make their case; warns of tactic that Bush’s people clearly like, as when they use California’s electricity crisis to ‘hustle through’ weakening of environmental protections
Reckonings; Slicing The Salami February 11, 2001
Paul Krugman column explains that selling of Pres Bush’s tax cut relies heavily on ‘salami’ tactic of slicing away opposition bit at a time; analyzes ‘whole salami’ of three basic federal taxes on individuals
Reckonings; Doing the Wrong Thing February 14, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column scores Federal Reserve Chmn Alan Greenspan’s failure to try to curb tax-cutting frenzy he helped inspire
Reckonings; Fowl Play February 21, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column suggests that George W Bush, who likes to bestow nicknames, call himself Chicken Little, for running around saying ‘The sky is falling! Hurry up and pass my tax cut!’; points out that economic data do not support such gloomy views, except for consumer confidence, which seems to be plunging in direct relation to dire headlines
Reckonings; Debt and Taxes February 28, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says Pres George W Bush’s tax cut is irresponsible; says federal government is running large budget surpluses right now, but most of that comes from Social Security and Medicare, which must run surpluses now, while baby boomers are still paying into them, if we are to avoid either sharp tax increase or sharp benefits cuts when boomers retire; says Bush’s proposal to divert part of Social Security taxes into new personal acccounts for younger workers would further reduc...
Reckonings; Bashing the Boomers March 7, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says middle-income baby boomers will be among victims of Pres George W Bush’s budget and tax plan since he intends to ‘raid’ the funds that were supposed to support boomers’ retirement; says Social Security and Medicare were expected to accumulate almost $3 trillion in reserves over next decade, and Bush proposes to divert about $1 trillion into other uses; holds that without those reserves, Medicare will be in trouble in next decade and Social Security a bit later, bu...
Reckonings; The Money Pit March 18, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column warns that Pres Bush’s so-called trillion-dollar tax cut is more likely to cost a lot more, and is likely to become a $2.5 trillion tax cut; holds estimates have exploded because original estimates were dishonest
Reckonings; The Hostage Economy March 28, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says George W Bush’s tax cut plan is virtually useless as short-run economic stimulus; says plan delays big tax cut far into future, putting hardly any money into hands of consumers this year and not much next year; says better approach is to implement one of short-term stimulus plans proposed by Democrats, and hope that Bush’s strategy of using slowdown to press Congress into passing tax cut mainly benefiting the rich will miss its window of opportunity
Reckonings; The Levitating Dollar April 1, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column discusses why United States dollar is still rising, even as everthing else about American economy is down lately: manufacturing, production, overall growth, and stocks
Reckonings; The Class Warrior April 4, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column scores Pres Bush’s push to pass his tax cut quickly with minimal discussion; holds plan is even more tilted toward rich than previously thought because estate tax repeal would make it easier for rich to avoid income taxes
Reckonings; Two Untrue Things April 8, 2001
Paul Krugman column says it is not enough to scale down Pres Bush’s tax plan because it is contrary to interests of great majority of Americans and has been sold under utterly false pretenses; rejects claim that there is enough money for cuts, and that cut is for ordinary families
Reckonings; Muddled in the Middle April 11, 2001
Paul W Krugman Op-Ed column wonders what the heartland was thinking when it voted for George W Bush, who failed to tell them that promises to cut taxes and spending meant tax cuts for the urban elite and less money for farmers; points out that Bush’s budget punishes very people whose votes, as opposed to campaign contributions, put him in power; cites Montana, which is bigger recipient of federal money than New Jersey, and notes that nobody has found example of ‘family farm’ that actually has t...
Reckonings; The Farce Is With Us May 6, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says two pages missing from House budget resolution only begin to suggest full dishonesty of Republican leadership as it pushes through huge tax cut before anyone has chance to look at details
Reckonings; The Unrefined Truth May 9, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column disputes Vice Pres Dick Cheney’s intimation that high gas prices are result of shortage for which environmentalists are largely responsible; says conservation should be major element in our energy strategy, and that lack of conservation is large part of what we have been doing wrong; holds this year’s gasoline price spike has nothing to do with a shortage of crude oil and binding constraint right now is nation’s limited capacity to refine crude oil into gasoline; says ...
Reckonings; The Universal Elixir May 16, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column examines campaign by Bush administration to sell huge tax-cut package; provides facetious schedule of progress of tax cut legislation in next few months
Reckonings; Burn, Baby, Burn May 20, 2001
Who knew that Dick Cheney had such a sense of humor? He had us rolling in the aisles after the famous put-down in which he dismissed energy conservation as nothing more than a ‘‘sign of personal virtue.’’ But the joke got much better Thursday, with the release of the administration’s energy plan. Just for laughs, Mr. Cheney threw in a few mock conservation measures. Topping the list was a tax credit for -- get this -- people who purchase hybrid gas-electric cars.
Reckonings; The Big Lie May 27, 2001
Paul Krugman column wonders whether new Democratic control of Senate will really make difference in efforts to fend off Pres Bush’s huge tax cut
Reckonings; Bad Heir Day May 30, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says tax legislation passed by Congress and signed by Pres Bush is absurd, noting that one provision on estate taxes would create great temptation to kill off one’s parents before Jan 1, 2011, to save half one’s inheritance; says there are other ‘weird’ and ‘bizarre’ elements in tax plan, especially some provisions that are deferred well into the future; says that someday, responsible politicians will have to ‘untangle this mess’
Reckonings; Red Tide Rising July 6, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says Senate moderates who voted for Bush administration tax cut were snookered into thinking that budget surpluses would continue; says nation will spend years paying for consequences of their gullibility; notes that only after Bush signed tax cut into law did White House officials admit that budget outlook is not rosy after all; says Congressional Budget Office’s projections next month will certainly mark revenues down; says from now on, prospect is for chronic budget...
Reckonings; Outside the Box July 11, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column recalls Pres Bush’s solemn pledge that tax cuts would not be at expense of Social Security money, which would be kept in ‘lockbox’; reports that Bush takes some of his promises more seriously than others, pushing through big tax cuts for the rich and then discovering that lockbox is silly idea; quotes Mitch Daniels, director of Office of Management and Budget, saying, ‘box has nothing but promissory notes in it’
Reckonings; 2016 And All That July 22, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on draft report by commission on Social Security reform, appointed by Pres Bush; holds report is ‘sheer, mean-spirited nonsense’; deplores commission’s attempt to sow panic
Reckonings; Sins of Commission July 25, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column scorns Pres Bush’s hand-picked commission for its ‘doublethink’ proposals on Social Security and for trying to have it both ways on how Social Security contribution dollars are used, or not used, by general treasury; debunks commission’s reasoning on trust fund
Reckonings; Rebate and Switch July 29, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column mocks White House economist Lawrence Lindsey’s defense of Bush administration’s tax rebates
Reckonings; Feeling OPEC’s Pain August 5, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on Pres Bush’s expressions of sympathy for OPEC’s cause; suggests that his heart belongs to people, of whatever nationality, who sell oil
Reckonings; Nothing For Something August 8, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column contends that Bush administration is not interested in realistic proposal for privatizing Social Security but intends to promote private accounts with false advertising and promise of something for nothing; says administration is equally uninterested in realistic assessment of current Social Security system, and instead will attempt to convince people that huge surpluses of today somehow make no contribution to system’s future solvency
Reckonings; Delusions of Prosperity August 14, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on outlook for US economy; says excessive confidence may be part of problem causing current economic slowdown; says instead of being victims of self-fulfilling pessimism, we may be suffering from self-defeating optimism; says driving force in slowdown is plunge in business investment and that recovery will take more than simply trying to restore confidence
Reckonings; Enron Goes Overboard August 17, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on Enron Corp’s failed effort to become broker for wholesale electricity as deregulation spreadsd across United States; says state and local governments, alerted by what happened in California, are now wary of electricity deregulation, leaving fewer oportunities for Enron; notes that Bush administration’s faith in absolutely unregulated markets is unshaken in spite of debacle in California when it deregulated its electricity market
Reckonings; Fabricating A Crisis August 21, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column accuses Bush administration of fabricating crisis over Social Security reform by building on notion that system must be destroyed in order to save it; says only serious threat to Social Security comes from those want to panic Americans into junking system, when all it needs are minor repairs
Reckonings; Pants On Fire August 24, 2001
Op-Ed column by Paul Krugman, in form of open letter to Mitch Daniels of Office of Management and Budget; says Daniels’ claim that budget surplus has vanished because of Congressional big spending is bogus; notes that International Monetary Fund’s recent report points out that Pres Bush’s $1.35 trillion tax cut will actually cost at least $2.5 trillion; says fact is that money that was supposed to be accumulated to pay retirement benefits will be used instead to provide big tax cuts to very, ve...
Reckonings; That Sinking Feeling August 26, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column scores likelihood that Bush administration will raid Social Security surplus; fears any temporary raid on surplus would become permanent
Reckonings; Truth And Lies August 28, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says Pres Bush broke promise not to raid Social Security surplus to finance government programs; charges that Bush continues to lie about effect of ‘ill-advised’ $1.6 billion tax cut in negating budget surplus
Reckonings; Hold Him To It September 9, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says Pres Bush must be held to his promises to protect Social Security surplus
Reckonings; Paying the Price September 16, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says terrorist attacks on New York and Washington are partly self-inflicted because nation has not been willing to pay price of protecting itself, particularly at its airports; says spirit of the times was against anything that looked like increase in government spending unless it was explicitly military
Reckonings; What to Do September 19, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says best way to help US economy survive terrorist attacks is not with tax cut, but with large, temporary increase in government spending
Reckonings; A Bad Week September 23, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column assesses economic consequences of terrorist attacks on America; holds it up to government to ensure that America’s sorrow and nervousness do not turn into economic disaster; urges acceleration of flow of government spending into economy
Reckonings; Not a Fuels Errand September 26, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column reports that as Sept 11 shock fades some old refrains are being heard, from left and right, about ‘war for oil’; explains that oil is part of background to terrorist attacks, via Osama bin Laden’s hatred of US forces in Saudi Arabia; says there is no way for now to escape awkward realitiy that Mideast oil reserves are crucial to world economy
Reckonings; The Hitchhiker Syndrome September 30, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on political phenomenon of the ‘hitchhikers,’ people who want to use patriotic bandwagon spurred by terrorist attacks as vehicle to promote their favorite economic and tax policy proposals; contends most vocal hitchhikers are conservative pundits; finds that Bush administration has been pretty good at rejecting hitchhiker strategy
Reckonings; The Public Interest October 10, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column scorns conservative resistance to federalizing airport security to protect Americans from terrorists; observes that Bush administration, after flirting with moderation in weeks following Sept 11 attack, seems to have returned to its conviction that hard right, which is relentless and bears grudges, must be deferred to even in times of national crisis
Reckonings; Ban the Bonds October 24, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column opposes creation of new class of war bonds to support nation’s war on terrorism as well as corporate tax cuts being pushed by House Republicans with blessing of Pres Bush
Reckonings; The One-Eyed Man October 31, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column notes House-approved bill to repeal alternative minimum tax would give big refunds to medium-sized companies in energy and mining businesses that tend to be based in or near Texas; cites overlap between these companies and companies that would have gotten large subsidies under Vice Pres Dick Cheney’s energy plan; notes most made large, one-sided donations to Republican Party in last election; cites error in his Oct 24 column on war bonds
Reckonings; Making Windows Transparent November 4, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column cites difficulty of finding good solutions to Microsoft Corp’s antitrust violations; holds proposed settlement with Justice Department might do some good
Reckonings; A Cross of Dollars November 7, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on Argentina’s looming economic catastrophe blames old-time economic religion, with narrow-minded insistence on monetary rectitude at expense of every other consideration; explains that since last spring conservative economists have urged Argentina to preserve its dollar peg and default on old debt instead, which is what is happening now; hopes Argentina will not sacrifice economy and credit rating on altar of discredited monetary theology
Reckonings; Another Useful Crisis November 11, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column assesses Senate Republicans’ economic stimulus package, backed by Bush administration; holds bill offers little stimulus, and is mainly designed to lock in permament tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy
Reckonings; Other People’s Money November 14, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says budgetary cost of war on terrorism, abroad and at home, is relatively small change, probably less than $200 billion; says much of projected $2.7 trillion Social Security surplus was gone before Sept 11, swallowed by Pres Bush’s tax cut last spring, and administration’s allies in Congress are now striving energetically to give away the rest in tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy individuals, thinking they can get away with it by blaming terrorism for future...
Reckonings; The 55-Cent Solution November 21, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column scores Pres Bush for backing plan that would give New York only $11 billion of $20 billion in aid promised after Sept 11 terrorist attacks; questions why planned aid cut has gotten little attention; urges New Yorkers to express outrage
Reckonings; An Alternate Reality November 25, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says television news always shows Americans behaving well in wake of terrorist attacks, but some Web sites and business sections of quality newspapers reveal a different picture: Congress voting billions in ‘lump-sum transfers’ to airlines but not a penny for laid-off airline workers, House ‘stimulus’ package that contains almost nothing for the unemployed but $25 billion in retroactive corporate tax cuts and Bush administration pressing for opening of public lands to ...
Hitting The Trifecta December 7, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column likens Pres Bush’s tax and budget plans to Enron, company that used cooked numbers to justify big giveaways at top and then let ordinary workers pay the price; recalls how Bush used projections of vast budget surpluses to push through huge tax cut earlier in year, and now tells us, through budget director Mitch Daniels, that entire budget, not just portion outside Social Security, will be in deficit through 2004
Eleven And Counting December 14, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed article says Federal Reserve has cut interest rates 11 times this year, and has yet to see results; says Fed chairman Alan Greenspan is partly to blame for this; says sudden return of federal deficits have had impact on long-term interest rates, and it was Greenspan who testified before Congress in January on behalf of large tax cuts; says Greenspan should concede that he gave Congress bad advice
A No-Win Outcome December 21, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column on why economic stimulus package failed in Congress; compares original version of bill with later one to prove that Republicans did not ‘give a lot’ to get bill passed, as they claim; says question American people should ask is why Bush administration, given deadlock in Congress, did not push for minimalist package that would have been better than no deal at all; says such a package would not have lived up to hopes of administration strategists, who thought they could ...
The Scrooge Syndrome December 25, 2001
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says United States has become Scrooge of Western world, least generous rich nation on planet; notes that Americans typically come up with 10 percent as appropriate amount of federal budget that should be devoted to foreign aid, about 20 times what US currently spends; says government should put its weight, and its dollars, behind World Health Organization proposal to provide basic services and medicines to world’s poor, plan that would save millions of lives each year ...
Could’ve Been Worse December 28, 2001
Paul Krugman column reviewing economic policy in United States and abroad holds 2001 could have been worse; notes United States economy, while falling into recession, did not fall off cliff; hails farcial end to commission that was supposed to offer detailed plan to privatize Social Security
America The Polarized January 4, 2002
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says economic polarization--the sharply widening inequality of income and wealth--is most likely source of political polarization, prompting Republicans, but not Democrats, to move to right; says response to rising inequality has been drive to reduce taxes on rich, thanks to campaign finance, lobbying, and general power of money to shape political debate; disagrees with commentators who expect that current partisanship is temporary aberration
The Quiet Man January 8, 2002
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who gave Bush administration aid in its push for large tax cut year ago, is strangely silent now, as analysts agree that federal budget will be in deficit for at least next several years; says sudden plunge back into deficit undoes Greenspan’s own handiwork, but if Greenspan says anything now against tax cut he would have to admit, at least tacitly, that he was wrong last year; says if he worries about his reputation, he sh...
Our Wretched States January 11, 2002
Op-Ed column by Paul Krugman says current condition of states is shape of national things to come; notes National Governors Assn reports its members face combined budget shortfall of at least $40 billion; attributes this to mostly Republican governors who used questionable budget forecasts to justify tax cuts for affluent; notes Bush administration used same strategy at national level in 2001; says selective tax cuts in states were cleared with forecasts that made no allowance for contingencies...
Crony Capitalism, U.S.A. January 15, 2002
Paul Krugman Op-Ed column says Bush administration fears, and press suspects, that latest revelations in Enron affair will raise lid on crony capitalism, American style; says administration, with its sense of entitlement, seems unconcerned by even most blatant conflicts of interest; says real questions about Enron’s relationship with administration involve what happened before energy trader went bankrupt; says that is when Kenneth Lay, Enron’s chief executive, allegedly told head of Federal Ene...
Listed above is every editorial Krugman wrote in the first year of Bush’s presidency in which Bush (or Cheney) is mentioned. In every one Krugman opposes Bush. Note the main themes:
Here are some more highlights: Notice the small post-9/11 stimulus package Bush approved in November, 2001. Guess what? Krugman opposed it! Then he accused Bush and the Republicans of concocting a fake crisis in order to get it passed. You can’t make up more hypocritcal stuff than this!
I find it interesting that in Krugman’s May 30, 2001 piece he claimed repealing the estate tax would "create great temptation to kill off one’s parents before Jan 1, 2011." This is the same guy who in 2009 mocks conservatives/Republicans for arguing ObamaCare will lead to death panels and pulling the plug on grandma.
If that’s not unprincipled, politically-motivated, spiteful opposition, I don’t know what is.
Paul Krugman, you’re a class-A hypocrite. A Democrat hack with a word processor. And your constantly rebuked Marxist-socialist approach to economics sucks.
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