as usual, it his column is a must-read. Today's is titled We Don't Need No Education, words derived from Romney's criticism of the President for wanting more teachers, fireman, and police.
Republicans including Romney argue that
our disappointing economic performance has somehow been caused by excessive government spending, which crowds out private job creation. But the reality is that private-sector job growth has more or less matched the recoveries from the last two recessions; the big difference this time is an unprecedented fall in public employment, which is now about 1.4 million jobs less than it would be if it had grown as fast as it did under President George W. Bush.
Krugman points out not having those jobs is the difference between our current unemployment rate of 8.2% and what would be 7.3% - which as a side note would mean that the President would have fulfilled his commitment to lower unemployment below 8%.
But there is so much more.
Krugman looks at the example of Ireland, which followed the austerity program pushed by the Germans and so valued by advocates of things like the Ryan budget proposal. THe Irish lost 28,000 public sector jobs, which when extended proportionally to the population ratio between Ireland and the U. S. would equal laying off 1.9 million public sectors workers here, and the result? Ireland's unemployment rate (U-3 model) is at 14% -
Ireland’s experience shows that austerity in the face of a depressed economy is a terrible mistake to be avoided if possible.
Krugman also notes that the US has the ability to borrow right now, and at historically low rates, to fund stimulus. We can do what the Irish, as part of the Euro zone, could not do on its own. This would allow the Federal government to help states and local governments who cannot run deficits maintain or even increase public sector employment and thus blunt the impact of the recession. Why more public sector employees? How about serving the additional folks on unemployment, needing food stamps, etc.?
Romney's words about teachers, fireman and police are an honest representation of his thinking. He doesn't want the federal government to do this.
So the former governor of Massachusetts was telling the truth the first time: by opposing aid to beleaguered state and local governments, he is, in effect, calling for more layoffs of teachers, policemen and firemen.
Actually, it’s kind of ironic. While Republicans love to engage in Europe-bashing, they’re actually the ones who want us to emulate European-style austerity and experience a European-style depression.
Read that last sentence carefully - Krugman is being blunt - that the austerity approach in Europe is creating
a European-style depression.
Those watching the Euro Cup competition have heard about it. Traditionally in the round-robin portion of international soccer competitions there is the toughest group of four out of which to be one of two qualifiers, and it is called the Group of Death. This year, in addition, there is a group which contains Croatia (not part of the Euro Zone), Italy, Spain, and Ireland - it has been tagged with the moniker of the Group of Debt, since already Ireland and Spain have had major financial issues and the economy of Italy is not that far behind.
People are waiting to see how those in Greece vote in the next round of elections, whether the Greeks will pull out of the Euro. Certainly there is anticipation they will - there has been a severe run on banks in Greece this week.
In the meantime, many people around Europe and around the world are coming to the conclusion that the austerity approach insisted upon by the Germans is the wrong path. Krugman writes
almost everyone following the situation now realizes that Germany’s austerity obsession has brought Europe to the edge of catastrophe — almost everyone, that is, except the Germans themselves and, it turns out, the Romney economic team.
One could in fact look at the counter example of Iceland, one of the earliest economies in trouble, which took a different path and which has seen its economy return to stability.
Krugman concludes by noting the implications if Romney wins being disastrous, because
all indications are that his idea of smart policy is to double down on the very spending cuts that have hobbled recovery here and sent Europe into an economic and political tailspin.
Romney and Ryan and people like that do not seem to care. They seem to think that the health of an economy is measured at the top. At least since Andrew Jackson, as Jim Webb likes to point out, most Democrats have instead measured the health of the economy by how those at the bottom are doing.
Except for Romney, the top is very narrow - he would gain personally at least $5 million in tax cuts while most Americans, certainly those in the bottom 80%, would see their overall tax burden increase, while the government services they receive from all levels of government - Federal, state and local - would be severely slashed.
You may not be happy with the Obama administration on many fronts. Certainly I am not on policies ranging from education to civil liberties. But as Van Jones pointed out at Netroots Nation last weekend, when we look at the President
We have stopped comparing him to the Almighty ... and started comparing him to the alternative.
Krugman's column reinforces this. Economically Romney's approach would destroy this nation, the hopes and futures of most Americans, and turn us into a basket case as bad as the worst of Europe.
Read Krugman.
Pass it on.
People need to understand.