Friday, July 8, 2011

Bachmann & Goolsbee On the Economy



U.S. Rep. and Presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann was interviewed on CNBC this morning right after the lackluster employment report came out from the Labor Dept.

Of course she is out of the MMT paradigm, but she shows how easy it is to score political points against the President on the issue of the economy.

Later CNBC had outgoing Obama Administration economic policy advisor Austan Goolsbee on for an interview, video below:




Unfortunately Goolsbee also is out of the MMT paradigm, and there is really not much difference between what Goolsbee comes up with here and what Rep. Bachmann came up with in her interview. They often sound the same here.

Both are unable to propose any real solutions to the current problem of lack of employment growth in the U.S. because both are economic morons foolishly concerned about the debt and the fiscal deficit in our current environment of a domestic output and demand shortage. This leaves fiscal policy options off the table for now for both political parties.

As both parties have managed to somehow back themselves into a political corner against an apparently new "third rail" of politics, the debt and deficit, I have to think that political pressure will again build on Fed Chairman Bernanke to "do something" to help foster employment growth through what has proven to be an impotent and probably damaging monetary policy.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

get used to seeing Bachmann...she is going to be the next President of the USA

mark my words

Krugman always used to say "President Palin", when talking about the insufficiency of economic stimulus and where we will therefore end up, but he's wrong. It's going to be President Bachmann.

Maybe Palin can be her vp?

Are we living in a simulation and the Programmers are just messing with us? Can we wake up now from this nightmare?

Tom Hickey said...

"she is going to be the next President of the USA"

A lot of people think that this is impossible because she has too many negatives. But they are overlooking the fact that many voters cast their votes against an incumbent, whoever the challenger is.

If the economy is in the tank going into the election, it is very doubtful that Obama can win, and whoever the GOP nominee is will be elected by default.

"Are we living in a simulation and the Programmers are just messing with us? Can we wake up now from this nightmare?"

It's called karma. A country gets the leaders it deserves.

On the positive side, if Bachmann gets elected, it will be a ton of laughs but for only those that can preserve their sense of humor.

If Bachmann is not the nominee and amore moderate person like Romney is, it is almost a shoe in that Bachmann will be the VP nominee to bring along the evangelical and TP wings of the base. If that ticket would win, they we could have the laughs without her having any real power.

Chaos said...

More of the 'crowding out' and 'creating jobs through austerity' retardation.

Please someone lecture them on how the monetary system works.

Chaos said...

Oh, and 'low taxes create jobs' yeah well, not so sure about that. Specially for megacorporations and the rich. raise taxes for the rich to drain excess money and limit speculation, and low or no-taxes at all for small business and low income people.

libertarian89 said...

At least we agree more QE would be harmfull.

There, two points of Austian and MMT agreement (albiet for different reasons): QE is ineffective, and probably harmfull, and taxes should be much lower.

More Gov't spending to support "demand?"

Myself and Jonathan M.F Catalan disagree:


http://mises.org/daily/5123/Government-Spending-Is-Bad-Economics

I encourage MMT'ers to take a look at that article

Matt Franko said...

lib,

Ill take a look.

QE wouldnt necessarily be harmful but it would be of no effect. Perhaps harmful in that if the morons in charge thought it would help it would otherwise delay truly helpful policies....

Govt spending to support demand:
If govt were to increase the Federal contribution to unemployment comp... increase SS payments... buy more public infrastructure... etc... I got news for you: Demand in the economy will go up....

Resp,

Mario said...

Tom

It's not fair to bunch Goolsbee and Bachman in the same bag at all. That's a really, really low blow to Goolsbee man.

Goolsbee may not totally get MMT (which I am not totally sure about btw)...but he's definitely no Bachman. He's demanding an extension of the payroll tax cuts, albeit they aren't enough but that's an MMT policy. He actually has succinct talking points and ideas that would likely do something to help...yeah he's into the whole "compromise on the balanced budget" thing sure, but that's worlds away from Bachman. Ask her a question and she spins off into an Ayn Rand sputtering when asked if the UE rate will go up or down if they follow her policies. Her best quality is she knows how to smile while talking out of her ass. LOL These two guys are worlds apart.

Goolsbee is a close enough ally to MMT in my view that he's at least valuable, not perfect, but valuable that's for sure. He also holds his weight against that shit head English dude that is just a freaking moron and almost tyrannical in his questioning. I don't have any TV channels and I haven't for over 10 years now...watching these clips reminds me why and makes me so grateful, calm, peaceful, and smart again. It is almost toxic for me to watch this kind of stuff...even in these smaller doses.

@Anon

don't say that man...seriously don't say that. It ain't happening...I'll vote for Obama as much as I can't stand him over Bachman anyday. Seriously take that back man...please I beg of you!!!!! LOL And yes let's wake up from this nightmare ASAP!!!

Throw the ring into Mount Doom FRODO!!!!!

Mario said...

@lib

What stats and figures are there to show that business is stalling b/c of doubts about the government? How does that work exactly in the minds and function of a business?

Also what stats and figures (not theories or philosophies) are there to show that the private sector will somehow create MORE jobs once the government "goes away" for a while and "doesn't come back"? Where will the demand come from? The logical implication by such a statement is that the government is literally SUPPRESSING job creation and investment in the private sector. I find that hard if not impossible to believe considering the status and nature and fucntion of OUR government (not the USSR mind you). What stats or figures exist that would prove me wrong and/or these theories right? I'd really like to know.

Thank you and Cheers.

MT :)

Mario said...

@lib

MMT'ers don't subscribe to the idea that QE was a bubble creator, unless you consider reserves a "bubble," and MMT doesn't.

Personally I am somewhat skeptical of that analysis, even though it is functionally sound and I don't have much evidence to support my sense of doubt. This chart did come my way the other day which I did find interesting...what do you guys think of this? It shows the relationship between Fed POMO days and the S&P rallying.

http://traderhabits.com/2011/07/lets-end-debate-pomo-causation-or-correlation/

In fact an argument against QE being a "bubble creator" could be that it takes away repo options and securities that could be created or invested through repos...isn't that accurate?

Tom Hickey said...

"It's not fair to bunch Goolsbee and Bachman in the same bag at all."

The same cry went up when Michael Hudson did a similar comparison. Of course, they are not in the same bag. Everyone who isn't crazy knows that Bachmann is, but a whole lot of people take Goolsbee's word as that of an expert. In a sense people like Goolsbee, Krugman, etc., are more of an obstacle to the spread of MMT than people like Bachmann, who are recognized ideologues pumping something regarding which they are ignorant. No one serious takes Bachmann seriously as an expert in economics, but a lot of serious people take Goolsbee to be an expert with good reason. That's a problem.

Mario said...

In a sense people like Goolsbee, Krugman, etc., are more of an obstacle to the spread of MMT than people like Bachmann

good point but the way to overcome such obstacles likely requires us to only up our game that much more, as we have been doing.

Honestly it is more about repetition I think than anything else. Cracks are forming...and we may be sitting on a 10 year trajectory with this thing who knows really.

All I know is the Truth shall set you free and when you live in the Truth "the wind won't move you" (caveat...the Truth does seem to have a way of moving around at times so it pays to keep eyes and ears open and keep on learning). There's really no better place to be imho. ;)

Matt Franko said...

Mario,
I dont think she can win but probably a good VP candidate for someone. She mentions a 'titanium spine' and 'tough love', this sort of imagery, etc.. she like most other Evangelicals is probably just caught up in Christendom's 'Hell Doctrine', and then, due to her immersion in GOP secular politics, right she follows that up with a chaser of Ayn Rand's Objectivism (some cocktail!). Perhaps this is why you recoil.

I dont take away anything about their educations, both are well educated Goolsbee PhD Econ, Bachmann JD/Post Doc. Just pointing out that the combined ignorance in this one area (govt debt and deficits) is the same thing that is holding both sides back from meaningful policy remedies right now.

What I see is that most of the leading Dems are 'intellectually corrupt' and most of the leading GOPers are 'zealous ideologues'.

The shortest path I'm seeing right now is that the GOP gets the WH back in 2012 and as usual does an about face and spikes the deficit with tax cuts and increases govt spending within their particular constituencies... if Obama does not get rid of his economic team and get some people (Galbraith, etc) in there who know what they are doing...

Resp,

beowulf said...

Matt,

A pity John Edwards couldn't keep his pants on. The world would be a better place with this economic team running the railroad.
http://newappeal.blogspot.com/2008/01/progressive-economists-for-edwards.html

Matt Franko said...

Beo,

Looks like they already have an A-team together there.

They should just re-hitch their wagon to a different candidate in 2012 if Obama wont listen.

Resp,

Mario said...

Obama has backed himself into a corner now b/c he's already agreed that the deficit is a problem...now the debate rests on how much to cut rather than to cut at all and in this climate politically people want serious change and therefore serious action, hence a balanced budget. Either way the next pres will be demolished if they stick to their stated plans for the economy and THEN people might start thinking outside their cardboard boxes...enter MMT stage right. ;)

I guess we all got really well educated at the best universities for tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars only to watch corrupted retards f*&% our nation up...go figure right!?!?! The irony is so thick it's almost unbearable.

beowulf said...

Looks like they already have an A-team together there.

No, they're still missing somebody.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NancyReaganMrTChristmas1983.jpg