Worst "Elites" Since The Great Depression

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Economy
Posted on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 09:53:58 AM EST
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NYTimes Editorial:

The world has barely dug out of recession and the global economy is again slowing dangerously. Most leaders seem eager to make things even worse.

Instead of looking for ways to reignite growth, Europe’s leaders — and Republicans on Capitol Hill — are determined to slash public spending. Europe’s fixation on austerity is also compounding its debt crisis, bringing the Continent even closer to the brink. Meanwhile, China’s government, which is struggling to contain inflation without letting its currency rise, has been trying to slow domestic demand, allowing its trade surplus to balloon.

Each of these policies is wrong. In combination, they are likely to tip the world into a deep recession.

Bush 43 levels of incompetence.

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Worst "Elites" Since The Great Depression | 55 comments (55 topical)

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Competition (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by Stellaaa on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 10:28:30 AM EST

At this point western leadership in Europe and the US are in a world class competition of stupidity and timidity while holding on to the power for the parties. Bleak.

I think it's going to be a (5.00 / 2) (#7)
by Anne on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 10:56:31 AM EST

terribly bleak winter; I fully expect homeless shelters to be overwhelmed, for food pantries and soup kitchens to be desperate for donations, for more deaths from exposure, and for more fire- and carbon monoxide-related deaths and injuries resulting from people just trying to stay warm in homes where there is no heat.

God help us, because there's no help coming from those in power.


And no plan B to help either (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 11:01:19 AM EST

or C. The little people do not matter


Silly rabbit (5.00 / 1) (#19)
by MO Blue on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 01:30:54 PM EST

Of course there is a Plan B. The same Plan B that Obama always uses. He will give another speech. It will be the greatest speech evah next month... the month after .......repeat.


: I hope he doesn't yell at me this time (5.00 / 1) (#38)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 03:29:10 PM EST

Or threaten to make me eat a vegetable that in large quantities is toxic.

I was walking to my car last night (5.00 / 3) (#10)
by jbindc on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 11:04:14 AM EST

Parked in a garage about a mile away (the boyfriend had dropped me off and parked it as his office). I walked in front of a church and saw a van there. Outside the van was a long line of homeless men, probably 30 of them or so, who hung out in the park across the street during the day, waiting to be picked up to be taken to a shelter for the night.

That is sad in any situation, but this particular event was taking place directly across the street from Lafayette Park in downtown DC. Which is directly in front of the White House. Anybody standing in the WH (at least on an upper floor) looking out the windows could have probably seen these homeless men. It astounds me that in the richest nation in the world, we can have that many people in need literally at the doorstep of the leader of the free world.

Very sad.


: The Last Time I Saw D.C. (none / 0) (#15)
by Mr Natural on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 11:44:23 AM EST

...That stroll through Farragut Square, a filthy mass of homeless, Those blackshirts 'round the White House, their dogs in Hannibal Lector masks...

: So what (none / 0) (#32)
by Ga6thDem on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 02:55:09 PM EST

if Obama saw them? He would be yelling for them to take off their bedroom slippers.

It would be one thing if there had been (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by Anne on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 10:33:30 AM EST

a good plan - bigger stimulus, more public spending, legislation to transition to a single-payer system, etc. - and that plan had not been managed well, but that's not what happened. Those in power in this country went in another direction, by choice, and with a concerted effort.

If we were talking about the former, yes, I would call them incompetent. But we are talking about the latter, and if they were any more competent at managing the choices they've already made, and pushing the ones they still want to bring to fruition, we'd probably be looking at much worse today than we ended up with.

But, not to worry - they haven't given up on their course, they are more determined than ever to keep going. And I don't know why the NYT seems to be the last to know, but this is not the result of Republicans acting alone, but of a Democratic president and a fair number of congressional Democrats who are not just on board, but are leading the way.

They didn't need a bigger stimulus (5.00 / 3) (#5)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 10:50:29 AM EST

Anne. Understand that the group of people who made that decision all had a hand in creating this mess. And they needed their "confidence" beliefs proven as well. Smaller stimulus means they didn't end up fecking the country over as bad as they were all afraid that they had, and also would prove the confidence fairy really does rule the whole world forever and ever.

And you can't do more public spending because that makes the confidence fairy that the Obama economic crew has caged in their meeting rooms cry and not come out of her little house and she stops spreading fairy dust. There is another confidence fairy out there that would be so happy with public spending though, but she didn't go to Harvard or Princeton, she went to community college. She is a low class fairy from middle class origins. She's a nasty tramp fairy :)


Oh, I know. I am slowly - because it is (5.00 / 5) (#9)
by Anne on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 11:03:22 AM EST

just so damn depressing - making my way through Suskind's book; it takes actual will to keep reading, because each thing I think is just so bad is followed by something worse.

I fully expect that, as soon as the DOJ can make a convincing argument that the confidence fairy is a "person," it will have Suskind indicted and arrested for attempted murder.


Heh heh (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by jbindc on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 11:05:40 AM EST

Read about a bumper sticker that said something like,

"I'll consider a corporation a person when Texas executes one."


Possible... (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by huzzlewhat on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 11:07:11 AM EST

The confidence fairy might qualify for personhood in Mississippi if the proposed "personhood" amendment goes through ...

Yes, I laugh, because the alternative is huddling up in a corner, whimpering.


: The personhood push (none / 0) (#20)
by christinep on Thu Sep 29, 2011 at 01:38:30 PM EST

was attempted before in Colorado (the past two elections, I believe.) Soundly defeated. It seems as tho questions about how to characterize "things" like miscarriages and other situations kept arising...& the proponents of t