It's The Economy Stupid: Paul Krugman Is Right

I know, I know, y’all think I’ve lost my mind.  That aliens came down and hijacked me, brain washed me and dropped me back down on earth loving the New York Times Op-Ed people.  But that’s not the case.  I like to read.  And I don’t have to just read things that support my position.  I believe that in order to truly further your knowledge on any given subject you have to be able to see alternative points of view.

 

And okay, sure,  there isn’t a lot that Paul Krugman writes that I agree with, but there is a piece in the New York Times that caught my eye.  In particular, the first paragraph, because after that paragraph he chooses to revert to partisan politics himself.  But his essential point is correct.  The President, Congress and the Federal Reserve need to concentrate  on one thing first.  JOBS!!!! 

 

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Friday, August 12, 2011

The New York Times

Paul Krugman:

The Hijacked Crisis

 

Why are policymakers so worried about reducing the debt instead of reducing unemployment?:

 

The Hijacked Crisis, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times:

For more than a year and a half ... we’ve had a public conversation that has been dominated by budget concerns, while almost ignoring unemployment. The supposedly urgent need to reduce deficits has so dominated the discourse that on Monday, in the midst of a market panic, Mr. Obama devoted most of his remarks to the deficit rather than to the clear and present danger of renewed recession. What made this so bizarre was the fact that markets were ... saying — almost shouting — was, “We’re not worried about the deficit! We’re worried about the weak economy!” ...

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Without job creation this economy is going nowhere.  Creating jobs has to be job one, job two and job three.  We are not going to solve the country’s long term structural problems this year.  But if we don’t revive the economy this year we will make the long term structural problems worse.

 

 

John Broussard

Assistant State Treasurer

Chief Investment Officer

State of Louisiana

Department of the Treasury

Ph:  225-342-0013

Fx:  225-342-9721

Email:  jbroussard@treasusry.state.la.us