Paul Krugman: Initial reaction to jobs program

Paul Krugman
December 8, 2009, 3:25 pm

Show me the money!

I’ll be on Lehrer tonight to talk about the new stimulus job-growth acceleration plan. But it’s going to be really hard, because it’s impossible to judge without some numbers.

As I understand it, what the administration is trying to do is leverage an inadequate amount of money into disproportionate job creation. Hence the jobs tax credit and the cash-for-caulkers program, each of which might — might — produce many more jobs per buck than a conventional stimulus. Basically, it’s about making policy in the face of a dysfunctional Congress.

But even so, it can’t be done without a significant amount of funds. If Robert Reich is right and it’s only $70 billion, it’s a Potemkin policy — all facade, virtually no substance.

How big do the numbers have to be to make it serious? It’s hard to see much impact with less than $200 billion — and what I really want to see is that including all the pieces, from COBRA extension to state aid, it’s much bigger than that.

So show me the money, and I’ll tell you what I think about the plan.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/show-me-the-money/

Krugman knows what's up.

so im not sure what exactly hes trying to do here but its not honest.

He's got a Nobel too.

reinflate the speculator's casino bubble...


$70 Billion for the people (most of which will probably be supply-side tax fiddling bullshit by the time Obama finishes being all bipartisan-y with the fascists)



At least Obama is honest enough not to trust "trickle-down" to deliver a few crumbs to the people.

:rofl:

just the typical Republican response to everything - "what's the rush - we can wait". it is just so clear to me that Republican leaders just want the entire middle class (and below) to disappear from the earth.

or collaborators.

Thanks for posting.

Kickity kick.

Good one, Paul.