Monday pedantry punditry.
Paul Krugman:
What can be done about mass unemployment? All the wise heads agree: there are no quick or easy answers. There is work to be done, but workers aren’t ready to do it — they’re in the wrong places, or they have the wrong skills. Our problems are "structural," and will take many years to solve.
But don’t bother asking for evidence that justifies this bleak view. There isn’t any. On the contrary, all the facts suggest that high unemployment in America is the result of inadequate demand — full stop. Saying that there are no easy answers sounds wise, but it’s actually foolish: our unemployment crisis could be cured very quickly if we had the intellectual clarity and political will to act.
Ross Douthat:
The Tea Partiers have a point. Officially, the Republican Party stands for low taxes and limited government. But save during the gridlocked 1990s, Republican majorities and Republican presidents have tended to pass tax cuts while putting off spending cuts till a tomorrow that never comes.
Conservatives have justified this failure with two incompatible theories. One is the "starve the beast" conceit, which holds that cutting taxes will force government spending downward. The other is the happy idea that tax cuts actually increase government revenue, making deficit anxieties irrelevant.
The real world hasn’t been kind to either notion. Cutting taxes without cutting spending, the Cato Institute’s William Niskanen has shown, may make voters more likely to support big government, because spending feels like a free lunch. And while some tax cuts can raise government revenue, the income-tax cuts of the Bush years emphatically did not.
Republicans aren't interested in governance, Ross, they're interested in power.
NY Times:
Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is "going dark" as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.
David C. Wilson on polling Delaware:
CNN's most recent poll (Sept. 17-21) of 703 likely voters in Delaware (margin of error +- 5%) actually shows Castle with a 24% point lead over Coons among Independents, a 13% point lead among moderates, and while he is down by 42% points among Democrats, he still garners 33% points worth of their support. Add this to his 72% point support among Republicans, and his candidacy appears to still be alive and well.
See CNN's results here.
These are very favorable statistics for Castle, and the recent news that he has not ruled out running a write-in campaign has added fuel to the fire that he's not done. The air is also filled with questions about whether a Castle revival would take moderate and Independent votes from Coons, or take Republican votes from O'Donnell. Still, with no post primary data on his competitiveness against O'Donnell we are left to wonder why pollsters are missing this horse race.
And who would Castle caucus with?
Georges Benjamin:
Next week the House of Representatives will have the opportunity to take a dramatic step to improve the health and wellbeing of America's children by passing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This act will update the nutrition standards of school meals; limit the sale of junk food in schools; provide greater reimbursement and more training to school personnel so they can serve more nutritious meals; improve and simplify the application process; increase the use of foods from local and regional sources; and support improved school nutrition and physical activity wellness policies.
This is a must-pass piece of legislation because millions of our children are depending on this support. If the House fails to pass this act, important program improvements will not occur. These improvements include: the continued use of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks in our nation's schools; additional funding to upgrade the quality and nutritional quality of foods served children in school; reforms that streamline the eligibility process for children in high poverty communities to increase access; and expanded access to balanced meals for children in after school settings.
This is important legislation that will have meaningful impact on the future of our nation's children. It should be passed this week before time runs out.
Anesthesiologist Andy Harris (R) is running for Congress in MD, and getting national support from the high paying profession.
"As a doctor, Andy Harris knows better than most what we need for real health care reform," said the anesthesiologists' 60-second radio ad, which, by law, had to be produced independently of the Harris campaign.
It is the only campaign commercial the anesthesiologists' PAC has sponsored anywhere in the country this year. The PAC also gave $10,000 to Harris, the maximum allowed by law.
At the same time, a long-running feud between anesthesiologists and the specialized nurses they often supervise in administering anesthetics has spilled over into the Harris-Kratovil race.
On one professional forum online, a writer, who described himself as an attending physician and personal friend of Harris', solicited campaign contributions as a way of fighting what he termed "infringement" by the nurses on anesthesiologists' business.
Harris "is an anesthesiologist who will fight for our cause!" wrote the poster, identified only as IN2B8R. "He is a guy who can tremendously help our specialty, I hope he wins this time around!"
Let's pit the docs v the nurses, Andy, so you can get paid a gazillion dollars. Good move. And let's wonder why the health care system is dysfunctional and costs so much, shall we? Republican solutions? As my grandmother would say, feh. Congressman Frank Kravotil (D) is up by 6 in the latest poll.
