If that moth-tongued gossiping auntie, the Washpost, is to be trusted, then the class struggle inside the present White House is over.
Larry "The Sow" Summers and the "progressive" side of Wall Street won, and Jared Burpstein and the union piecard side of the DC loop lost.
"Meeting in January on the eighth floor of the transition team's office in downtown Washington, Geithner pressed the incoming president to commit to cutting the deficit to 3 percent of the economy over the next five years, which would keep the nation's debt roughly in line with normal economic growth. Summers quickly backed him."Some, including economist Jared Bernstein, resisted, saying that such a strict limit would make it more difficult to confront the many challenges ahead and that the size of the government's emergency response to the economy and financial markets would make the cap tough to maintain.
In February, the entire economic team convened in the windowless Roosevelt Room in the White House. Obama abruptly ended the debate. Geithner and Summers would have their way."
Comments (11)
This isn't just mud-wrestling among the wonks, it's the rationale on which social programs will be cut back later on.
Posted by seneca | March 3, 2009 6:47 PM
Posted on March 3, 2009 18:47
fortunately the economy will grow 18.2% in 2011 alone and there's nothing to worry about.
Posted by hapa | March 3, 2009 8:59 PM
Posted on March 3, 2009 20:59
sen
you appear to be my only reader
on about 9/10 of my posts
i'm both grateful for
and depressed by
that fact
Posted by op | March 3, 2009 9:41 PM
Posted on March 3, 2009 21:41
hapa
expansion rates post '10
are likely to be even higher then your 18.5%
since
they'll be even lower then forecast
every quarter we pass thru b4 then
Posted by op | March 3, 2009 9:46 PM
Posted on March 3, 2009 21:46
op, I read your posts religiously, I just don't know what the hell to say about them.
Posted by Save the Oocytes | March 4, 2009 2:44 PM
Posted on March 4, 2009 14:44
sto
i always say
if you the reader are left without a comment
he the writer is a self important fool
so
attack the son of a bitch
ps
its attention i crave good or bad
...like i suspect most word wastrels
a voice coming back at me
is a delight
Posted by op | March 4, 2009 6:57 PM
Posted on March 4, 2009 18:57
I always admired Michael's suave wit, and wasn't quite sure if your were his devil, his Sancho Panza, or his alter ego. Now, I guess, Michael may have a job, or have tired of always being the Boss, and you (and Al)have kindly stepped in to save the site, and in the process have given up your manic mask and revealed yourself to be an earnest, learned and well-meaning socialist professor. Well done, OP!
Posted by seneca | March 5, 2009 5:36 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 17:36
"well-meaning socialist professor"
the final irony
Posted by op | March 5, 2009 10:28 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 22:28
All right, here's a comment: why do you mangle everyone's name? I've got to admit "Dougwood Hen" is amusing, but I think you can probably do better than "Burpstein."
I hadn't realized there was class struggle in the White House, I just thought that it was standard policy for Democratic presidents to keep the occasional more progressive economist around (e.g. your friend Bobby Reich) to ignore. I don't know whether they do it because it helps give liberals the illusion something good might happen or they just like kicking them around.
Posted by Save the Oocytes | March 5, 2009 11:50 PM
Posted on March 5, 2009 23:50
oocytes: mangling names is just fun! Shows superiority of the writer to the subject, or, perhaps, too many years of Joyce in graduate school.
Posted by seneca | March 6, 2009 10:37 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 10:37
"the final irony" (OP)
ah, I get it. PhD forced to go to work at Barnes and Noble!
Posted by seneca | March 6, 2009 10:40 AM
Posted on March 6, 2009 10:40