Paul Krugman on the Federal Reserve

Paul Krugman tells Jeffery Brown the Federal Reserve and the Obama administration is not doing enough to help the economy. Krugman explains that policymakers have become complacent.

We need to do something to make this economy stronger, not five years from now, not 10 years from now, but now. We need to prop this up. Yes, it's true that the aftermath of financial crises is usually a long period of poor economic performance. But that's not something to just accept.

We're supposed to do something different. When Japan had a somewhat similar situation in the 1990s, after its bubble burst, American economists, American officials were caustic about the unwillingness of the Japanese to take strong action to deal with their problem, the way they were just sitting there. And now we're doing the same thing.

We are turning Japanese in our economic policy. This is not something we should be accepting. This is -- it's very easy for comfortable people, like all of us, right, in this discussion to say, well, you know, these things take time. Not necessarily. And -- and we should be trying to do better, not just sitting and accepting this prolonged period, when -- when productive workers, men and women who want to work, can't find jobs.

Former John McCain campaign economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin pushes the nonsense that the free market will take care of all. Holtz-Eakin was annoying during the campaign and his solution is during nothing about what is being described as a growth recession. The economy is slowly starting to grow but not enough to offset unemplyment. I recently read an economic report explaining how unemployment may increase.

So, take the tax increases off the table. Don't rely on government spending. Let the private sector drive this thing. And it's not imaginary to -- to look at things the administration wants credit for, increased emphasis on clean technologies, increased health I.T. Those aren't stimulus. Those are costly changes in the American economy they're trying to do in the name of stimulus. That's not helpful.

Encouraging the free market to invest in clean energy technology. Holtz-Eakin does not like free market solutions when they are proposed by Democrats.

The McCain Campaign Smears On Last Day

McCain economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin defends his campaign calling Obama a socialist. Holtz-Eakin then tells Chris Matthews not to believe the exit polls. The same polls showing McCain losing the election. Notice the bottom of the screen shows Obama's lead in college electoral votes. The McCain camp can't stop lying.

Update: Holtz-Eakin is sounding like Baghdad Bob. Spin has taken over reality for these people.

Palin's Interview With Katie Couric

Sarah Palin tells Katie Couric what a Maverick John McCain has been. Unfortunately, Palin can't cite a single instance when McCain stood up to Wall Street.

COURIC: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?

PALIN: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie — that, that's paramount. That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.

COURIC: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.

PALIN: He's also known as the maverick though. Taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he's been talking about — the need to reform government.

COURIC: I'm just going to ask you one more time, not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation?

PALIN: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.

What makes matters worse is McCain chief economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin dropped out of the Stanford SIEPR Associates Obama vs. McCain Debate to brief Palin. This would be hysterical, if Palin didn't have a chance of being a heartbeat away from the presidency.

I don't think Palin is dumb. It's obvious she is a skillful politician. That doesn't mean she has a grasp of the economy.

Update: here is the video. Palin is unsure if Rick Davis was involved in his lobbying firm's dealings with Freddie Mac.

Davis' firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the people said.

They said they did not recall Davis doing much substantive work for the company in return. They said Davis' firm, Davis Manafort, had been kept on the payroll because of Davis' close ties to McCain. Davis took a leave from Davis Manafort for the duration of the campaign, but as a partner and equity-holder continues to benefit from its income.

Another gem: Palin on the bailout.

Palin: the interesting thing, in the last couple of days, that I have seen is that Americans are waiting to see what John McCain does on this proposal. They're not waiting to see what Barack Obama is gonna do. Is he gonna do this and see which ways the political winds are blowing. They're waiting to see that John McCain will be able to see these amendments implemented in Paulson's proposal.

Couric: Why do say that? Why are they waiting for John McCain and not Barack Obama?

Palin: He's got the track record of leadership qualities and the pragmatism that is needed at a crisis time like this.

Couric: But polls have shown that Senator Obama has actually gotten a boost as result of this latest crisis. With more people feeling that he can handle the situation better than John McCain.

Palin: I'm not looking at poll numbers. What I think Americans, at the end of the day, are going to be to go back and look at track records.

Palin's message is pay no attention to McCain's shitty economic numbers. My God. The Daily Show could air this entire video uncut.



Update: I have more on Palin's interview and McCain's decision not to appear on David Letterman's show.

Nancy Pelosi On Trickle Down Economics

Nancy Pelosi lashed out at President Bush's and Senator John McCain's economics policies.

This is what this is. This is the failure of an ideological “anything goes” economic policy. They call it the free market. Democrats support the free market and we want to encourage the markets. But it’s not a free market when you can run wild, anything goes, privatize the gain, nationalize the risk and when you fail, the middle class bails you out. It’s just not fair. It’s just not right.

So when John McCain says, when he told the Wall Street Journal, “I am the greatest deregulator you’ll ever interview,” what a sad boast. What a sad boast. Especially in light of the consequences of that deregulation.

McCain's chief economic advisor Douglas Holtz-Eakin told Fortune taxes will have to be raised. Both McCain's and Obama's tax plans would not bring in enough Federal revenue. Journalist Matt Miller asked Holtz-Eakin why Republicans insisted on cutting taxes.

So why does tax-cutting mania persist among Republicans, I asked Holtz-Eakin, the McCain adviser--given...that, as Holtz-Eakin himself explain to me, taxes soon have to go up substantially in any event?

"It's the brand," he said, "and you don't dilute the brand."

Tax cuts are a sales pitch that tells Americans there really is a free lunch. We can have two wars, increase domestic spending and you won't feel it in your pocketbook. The economic policy is tax cuts for the top two brackets. The Tax Policy Center did a study of Obama's and McCain's tax proposals. The graph shows how both candidates would tax different income brackets.

Donuts and Earmarks

My God! John McCain's economic advisors are as clueless about economics as the Maverick. Douglas Holtz-Eakin told U.S. News,"We have $60 billion in discretionary spending that was sourced to earmarks." Holtz-Eakin is refering to the 2008 budget. The problem is only $18.3 billion for the fiscal year is in earmarks.

The man McCain hired to be Director of Economic Policy can't do simple math. The media should take McCain and his staff to task for their bogus economic numbers. Unfortunately, the media is too busy feeding McCain donuts.