Tag: Paul Krugman

Frieda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

The Great Deflector blames ‘globalists’ for the market drops.

Later in the same press event, Trump again blamed globalists for the market downturn. “I think it’s globalists that see how rich our country’s going to be, and they don’t like it.“

What an absolute crock. Couldn’t be the old standard of people and institutions who invest in the stock market were protecting their profits and selling stocks, could it? Oh, no, he has to pull up some bullshit bogey man.

Then again, PINO Trusk isn’t a deep thinker. Not a sharp guy. Doesn’t understand the global network of finance, manufacturing, and supply chains at all. Nope. He prefers a stone-age ‘isolationist’ approach. Thinks that will ‘make America great again’.

Meanwhile, treating your friends like shit ends up with them getting pissed at you and treating you like shit.

Ontario cancels Starlink deal over US tariffs — Italy may follow due to US pullback from Europe

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that he would cancel the $100 million deal the Canadian province signed with Starlink in response to Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian goods. He’s also imposing a 25% tax on electricity exports, with New York, Michigan, and Minnesota being the most affected. CBC also reports that U.S.-based companies are banned from procurement contracts with the province.

X Threatens Our Democracy. Canada Should Ban It

Last year, as the U.S. government debated and then followed through on banning TikTok, Republican lawmakers advanced numerous arguments against allowing a hostile foreign power to control a significant medium of public discourse.

They said a social media application owned by someone who is close to an autocratic leader might be used as propaganda.

They said the amount of data harvested by the app from users’ phones could pose enormous security risks, providing information to the security services of a hostile power.

Of course, I might be in the minority in my concerns about PINO Trusk.

What Big-Business Leaders, Including Democrats, Say Privately About Trump

One Wall Street executive told me that Mr. Trump remains better than any of the alternatives. Another — citing Elon Musk’s government shake-up — said he likes what he sees so much, he now regrets voting for Ms. Harris.

It wasn’t just that this group resented Mr. Biden’s intrusive regulatory policies. They didn’t like diversity, equity and inclusion policies either — or anything they derisively described to me as “woke stuff.” Now executives and bankers alike (my circles tilt a bit toward Wall Street) are celebrating early signs of a reversal.

I’m not really astonished by claims that business leaders ‘favor’ PINO Trusk’s trash and burn approach. Stories are rising across the political spectrum about people who first cheer the Trusk Regime’s behavior. Then they’re personally affected, and the song they’re singing goes from praises to complaints. So, as PINO Trusk burns supply chains, declares tariffs (and reverses them), and alienates markets and customers outside of the US, we’ll see how they’re feeling in a few months. Sure, they’re wealthier; their wealth cradles their asses as we go through chaos and inflation.

Or, as Paul Krugman stated it, One thing that really struck me from Rattner’s piece — something I’ve heard from other sources — is that big businessmen think Elon Musk is doing a good job. I guess this is one of those cases where power and privilege make you blind to things that are obvious to everyone else.

After all this fucking around, I’m waiting to find out.

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Thurzda’s Theme Music

A stiff wind was rockin’ us last night in Ashlandia. As night came on shift, I watched our outside temperature drop to 34 F and then rise to 37 F. Rain fell and the temperature kept sneaking up outside as the wind barked at the moving branchs and howled at the sky. It’s not 41 F. ‘They’ have notified us that 51 F is possible as a high. The wind has skipped into a more mellow mood, sunshine has found a place in the sky, and all seems momentarily well on this day, Thurzda, Feb. 13, 2025.

Snow remains out there in force but its presence is shrinking. Bushes and trees continue their recovery. Fallen branches and trees around the city are being collected, cut up, moved away. If a bit more snow can melt off the piles lining the roads, we’re almost be back to normal.

Many are commenting on the bizarro Oval Office presentation by PINO Trusk. The elected half sat in a chair doing nothing and little vacuous. The other paced and made claims about finding and eliminating fraud. He made wild claims but stayed with the GOTP M.O. of offering no evidence or facts to back the claims. Looked like a Banana Republic Production to me. Paul Krugman did a nice take down of it in a post titled, Elon Musk Is Faking It.

Bet you saw the news that the GOTP wants to raise the debt ceiling for PINO Trusk. One reason given for the need for more debt is that ICE is running low on funds. Wow, who would’ve predicted that, right? Well, just ’bout anybody with the wits to realize the enormous costs involved with Trusk’s deportation plans. As seen on TV, the GOTP and their Project 2025 planners are purty damn witless, in addition to being lawless.

The Neurons jumped back to 1974 to find a tune to honor PINO Trusk. With all of his claims, he’s done nothing provable in quest of slaying fraud, as he claims; he’s only made us more vulnerable as a nation, broke laws and undermined justice, broke promises made to his MAGAts (see inflation and the cost of eggs), and sowed disorder and chaos on a national scale.

Stevie Wonder was found to have provided a song for the times. He called it, “You Haven’t Done Nothin'”.

We are amazed but not amused
By all the things you say that you’ll do
Though much concerned but not involved
With decisions that are made by you

But we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
‘Cause if you really want to hear our views
“You haven’t done nothing”!

It’s not too cool to be ridiculed
But you brought this upon yourself
The world is tired of pacifiers
We want the truth and nothing else

And we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
‘Cause if you really want to hear our views
“You haven’t done nothing”!

h/t to AZLyrics.com

I chugged some coffee earlier and I’m pretty well ready to go. Hope you have the plum-est of days imaginable, or some reasonable facsimile thereof. Let’s go get it. Cheers

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Munda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Recently caught two Paul Krugman articles. I read one yesterday. This was the post where he shared his tale about why he left the New York Times.

His story illuminated a lot for me. As 2024 progressed and I read his opinions, I thought, what is wrong with Paul Krugman? He is so much less insightful and he seems to be leaning toward the NYT bothsiderism plague. I often found myself begin to read him and then close it because, meh. After he left the Times and began writing on his own, I discovered that he’d regained his sharpness. I’m so much happier to have him out of the NYT yoke and free to comment on the world again, especially the Trumpworld.

Times editors — who deny this — became heavy-handed about Mr. Krugman’s opinions and insights. They rewrote his column, forcing him to rewrite the rewrites. It all became so dumbed down that it wasn’t worth reading.

But he’s back, baby.

That’s a natural transition to Mr. Krugman’s column today: Trump Is Doing Exactly What He Said He Would. Who Could Have Predicted That?

When democracies die, big business and wealthy individuals often play a crucial role in their demise. They provide a would-be strongman with financial support; their control of or influence over news media ensures that he receives favorable coverage, while his opponents are trashed. They do this because they expect to be rewarded with policies that favor their interests and imagine that they will in effect be shareholders in the new autocracy.

What comes next is familiar to anyone who studies history (which the oligarchs don’t.) Eventually it becomes clear that they don’t own the dictator they’ve helped install; he owns them. Maybe they’ll like some of his policies, maybe they won’t, but in any case they’re not in control — and they soon learn that criticizing the big man isn’t just fruitless, it’s dangerous.

In the past this script has typically taken a few years to play out, but this is the internet age, so right now in America the process seems to be taking only a few weeks.

Yep, Paul Krugman nailed it. Trump forced the GOP to be remade in his own image as the Grand Ol’ Trump Party. He brought on billionaires who are interested in having power and money. So guess what, GOP stalwarts? You guys aren’t needed any longer.

MAGA supporters? Naw, Trump can show now that he doesn’t give a shit about you, either.

Rural voters and Evangelicals who said that he shares your values, tells us like it is, and says what we’re thinking? You must have been thinking that th United States doesn’t need a democratic republic any longer. You must have thought that your freedoms and rights would be okay because Trump is like us.

If you haven’t realized yet, he is not like you, not unless you’re white, male, wealthy, selfish, racist, and sexist.

As for you folks who thought he would end wars, cut inflation, and make the United States a better place to live, man are you in for a fucking awakening. Talk ’bout woke! You’ll be woke as the deficit climbs and supply shortages and high prices gut the economy. Bet you’ll be woke as inflation rises and rises.

Those of you who wrung your hands and whined, “The Democrats don’t care about the cost of living enough, so I’m voting for Trump,” have fucked around. If you haven’t found out, you will.

I’ll take it back to Paul Krugman’s post from today to close.

As I get ready to hit the publish button, stock futures are down — but not nearly as much as the situation seems to warrant. Investors still seem to believe that there’s a good chance that Trump will use some minor concessions (about what?) to declare victory and dial the tariffs back. As I wrote about the same time Goldman and Dimon were telling us to chill out, this market complacency is a self-defeating prophecy: muted market reaction makes it likely that Trump will continue and expand his trade war.

And even if some of the tariffs prove temporary, the Rubicon has been crossed. We now know that when the United States signs an agreement, on trade or anything else, the president will treat that agreement as a mere suggestion to be ignored whenever he feels like it. That revelation in itself will do huge long-term damage.

All of this was entirely predictable. But there are none so blind as those who will not see.

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Sa’da’s Theme Music

Mood: freezincoffeevated

Ashlandia is sportin’ a frosty crazy frog mornin’. Fog greets our vision in all directions. Frosts offers greetings from the low plants and unpaved ground. Sunshine mingles with fog to inspire bleak graylight. Warmth is an alien suggestion. It’s up to 28 F here, a long way from promises of mostly cloudy sky with sunshine and a high of 50 F. We never crept anywhere near the forecasted claims yesterday as fog declared, “Nope, not leaving.”

I read Paul Krugman’s piece, “Voodoo, MAGA Style”, last night. Krugman covered Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, and his magical thinking about how to change the economy.

Bessent is very much like Trump. Promises are made, details are vague. Dusting off the Wayback Machine, we can revisit Trump’s claim that he’ll build a wall, and that Mexico will pay for it. He’ll replace the ACA. Etc. I recommend you read Krugman’s post about Bessent’s declaration about how the economy will be changed. Because, like Trump’s vaporwords, there are no details, and the promises vanish, often with a defiant stance that goes, “I never said that. That’s a lie. Fake news.” No, I don’t expect Bessent to be different. Maybe, though, he’ll start selling Trump-branded gimmicks to improve the economy. That’s a Trump fave to make money. Natch, Trump will get a cut.

My wife’s exercise routines inspired The Neurons today. She sometimes plays “Head Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK. Now it’s caught on in the morning mental music stream. Those of you familiar with the bouncy 2020 song will understand. To the rest, I warn you: it is catchy. It is a repeat song choice.

Coffee and I had a morning tryst. Hope your day goes in a satisfying way. Here’s the music. And away we go. Cheers

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Wezda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

Texas and Florida are led by two of the most right-wing, reactionary governors. Governors Abbott and DeSantis constantly assail liberal values such as freedom and equality for all, decrying these as part of that terrible, terrible ‘woke’ agenda. Gadzooks, the woke agenda is so evil, in their minds. Gender recognition, women’s rights, abortion rights, it’s so, soooo horrible to hear them. Why, those liberals, aided by Democrats, are willing to do something about restricting gun rules just cause children are being murdered in schools and mass shootings happen with a sickening regularity. Those damn liberals. And let’s not start them about the climate change hoax, or the environmental protections that allowed much of the nation to have some decent air and water and reduce cancer rates. They get spittin’ mad just thinkin’ ’bout it

One of the favorite tools for these two states is secession. If the nation won’t see things their way, they’ll just leave the nation. That’s how much they love ‘Merica. The way that talk, they’re all give, give, give, getting nothin’ back from those damn Feds except lies, except when a Republican sits behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Well, Mr. Paul Krugman has a nice post this week remind us of how that damn Federal government bailed out their states of Texas and Florida a few times. Mr. Krugman is writing in the context of Republican threats to put conditions on helping California recover and rebuild from its horrific wildifires. “Remembrance of Red State Bailouts Past” takes us through a short journey. It’s a fact-based journey, of course. You know how terrible the Republican crowd is ’bout facts. They’ve yet to met one that they like, much less remember one.

Hope you click on over and read Mr. Krugman’s column. It’s important that the rest of us know the facts so we can challenge those ridiculous un-American positions.

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