SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2023
Major meritocratic elite considers President Biden: According to Walter Isaacson, "There are a lot of reasons to be upset at the old meritocratic elite."
In this submission at The Atlantic, three members of one such elite conduct a discussion of President Biden's perilous political standing. As we read through their discussion, we were reminded of what Isaacson said.
The meritocratic elite in question is the upper-end legacy press corps. The three members of that elite work for one of the top publications, went to the finest schools:
Hanna Rosin: A senior editor at The Atlantic. A graduate of Stanford University, class of 1991. (And of Stuyvesant High!)
Franklin Foer: A staff writer at The Atlantic. A graduate of Columbia University, class of 1996.
Elaina Plott Calabro: A politics writer at The Atlantic. A graduate of Yale University, class of 2015.
They belong to an important meritocratic elite. Beyond that, they're good, decent people. But reading through their conversation, we were struck by the utter cluelessness they brought to their discussion of President Biden's political standing.
We thought their discussion was clueless throughout. In this opening thrust, Hanna Rosin—a good, decent person—defined the question at hand:
ROSIN (10/5/23): Objectively speaking, President Joe Biden has presided over some significant, even historic, accomplishments: a massive vaccine rollout, the biggest infrastructure investment since the Eisenhower administration, the lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years. Yet, when voters are asked about these things, their responses are perplexing. Poll after poll show that voters have never heard of these programs, are annoyed the media isn’t reporting about them more, or they just don’t care. Why don’t Biden’s political and legislative victories penetrate the public consciousness?
Why isn't Biden receiving credit from the public for his historic accomplishments?
That's the question as Rosin framed it. We were struck by the utter cluelessness of the discussion which followed.
We'll start with one major part of Rosin's presentation—her statement that Biden has "presided over the biggest infrastructure investment since the Eisenhower administration."
For the sake of argument, let's assume the accuracy of that claim. If Biden has presided over that massive investment, why don't voters seem to care?
The answer strikes us as fairly obvious. As a general matter, people don't care about "infrastructure."
Voters may care about certain specific infrastructure projects. Generally speaking, this will mean "infrastructure projects" they can actually envision and name.
Presumably, the Eisenhower era project to which Rosin refers was the interstate highway system. That was a major "infrastructure" project whose benefits were easy to envision and name.
By way of contrast, what sorts of "infrastructure investment" has Biden presided over? Even after reading this overview of the matter, very few people could give a cogent answer. A politician can't get credit for types of investment which can't be envisioned or named.
It may not have helped that Biden chose to misname the "infrastructure" bill in question, calling it the Inflation Reduction Act. That was a fairly obvious own goal on the part of the administration. Instead of getting credit for some type of "infrastructure investments," they were often criticized for engineering a bit of a con.
Why isn't Biden getting credit for historic infrastructure investments? We thought the journalists were remarkably clueless as they tried to puzzle that out.
They were even less impressive when they discussed the question of Biden's age. Below, you see the heart of our blue tribe's standard cluelessness about this dangerous topic:
Rosin: I feel like the Republicans are starting to coalesce around a line about Biden. Like, they’re hitting on a line about Biden. What? What is that? And how did they come to that?
Foer: It does feel like they’ve successfully constructed a character. He’s “sleepy Joe Biden.” He’s this guy who slurs his words and can’t complete a sentence.
There’s almost a conspiratorial edge to it that he’s just a sorry corpse who is like, it’s Weekend at Bernie’s. He’s being carted out by these evil advisors
Rosin: For the deep state—
Foer: To do their progressive bidding.
[...]
Rosin: I don’t instinctively understand the age question. I understand the gerontocracy question. Like, Why is everybody that old? But I don’t understand the specific age question. Like, 86-year-olds probably, to me, have a lot of experience and wisdom, and this is a terrible period, and Donald Trump is the other choice. Like, it doesn’t enter my mind the way it does a lot of other people.
According to Foer, Republicans have "successfully constructed a character" called “sleepy Joe Biden.” Rosin seems to say that she doesn't understand why this representation of Biden has registered with a lot of voters.
Dear God! Stating what is blindingly obvious, it registers with many voters because of Biden's rather obvious diminished public affect.
Along the way, Foer does give voice to a certain (troubling) "caveat." He says that Biden "doesn’t have the energy to campaign in the way that he would have a couple of years ago."
We don't know if that prediction will turn out to be accurate. But rather plainly, Biden totters around in a way which suggests that he is in fact being diminished by his age, and his speaking voice is much less authoritative than it was just a few years ago, when he was running for president.
We'll be voting for Biden next year, but these factors are blindingly obvious. Everyone can see these things—everyone except members of a major meritocratic elite who went to the finest schools.
Members of this particular elite have served the liberal / progressive world very poorly over the past thirty years. This dates back to the days when they couldn't explain whether Newt Gingrich was proposing cuts to the Medicare program or was simply proposing that we reduce the rate at which the Medicare program would grow.
Their technical dumbness is endless. In the case of Biden's age and affect, these graduates of Stanford, Columbia and Yale are no more able to see what is right before them than were the residents of the mythical land whose emperor claimed to be wearing a new suit of clothes.
This branch of the meritocracy has failed and failed and failed and failed, and then it has failed again. Still, we self-impressed blue tribe members seem wholly unable to quit it.
Our journalists go to the finest schools. Things tend to go downhill from there.
Somerby seems to think that the problem with Biden's age is obvious, because he looks so old. He dismisses the objections about Biden's accomplishments as clueless. For example, he says people just don't care about infrastructure, but Somerby doesn't say why. Nor does he discuss the portrayal of Biden by the media. He just asserts, repeatedly, that these pundits are clueless because Somerby does not agree with them. There is no intelligent argument in today's essay by Somerby. There is a lot of namecalling.
ReplyDeleteSomerby calls these pundits clueless 6 times. He uses the phrase blindingly obvious against them, 4 times. He throws in technical dumbness for good measure. And says they have failed 5 times, in the same sentence.
And it is because they went to the best schools, Somerby concludes. But his own arguments consists of: Biden is old because he looks so old.
I think Somerby is the only self-impressed pseudo-blue tribe member here. The rest of us want evidence, reasons to support the claim that people don't care about infrastructure, reasons why having gone to college makes someone a clueless member of the meritocracy (making that word into an epithet). Reasons why the quality of someone's speaking voice should determine the quality of their performance in the important job of president.
Somerby says these media personalities are clueless despite going to the best schools, not because they went to those schools.
DeleteThen why does he mention the schools at all?
DeleteIt's precisely because they went to those "finest schools", imho. Elitist upbringing.
DeleteHad they come from humble backgrounds, had they spent a decade or so working at a farm or a factory, it might've been better.
Not everyone who goes to an "elitist" school comes from wealth any more. And Kevin McCarthy's humble upbringing didn't help him be a better person. I think the colleges are a red herring.
DeleteYour biased opinion of Kevin McCarthy is irrelevant, Corby.
DeleteAnd yes, the social environment of one's upbringing does matter, obviously, although obviously it's not the determinative characteristic.
I am @1:44 -- my point about Kevin McCarthy, who went to Cal State Bakerfield, a middling school even in the Cal State System, not the least bit selective or elitist, is that going to a non-elitist school didn't help him be less of a schmuck as an adult and politician. That argues that attending an elitist school is likely not to have been formative either, as Somerby claims.
DeleteIf McCarthy can support the meritocracy despite having been no part of it, why would attending an Ivy League school to learn journalism make a writer clueless? It doesn't seem like college is the determining factor in such things.
On the other hand, Boebert remains undereducated for her job and it shows in her performance (is that word allowed after her embarrassing behavior at Beetlejuice?). Had she even attended community college, she might be a better person and better at her job (which she seems to be shirking, given that she is rarely present during meetings of the committees she supposedly serves on).
If you are allowed to comment here, why shouldn't Corby be here? We even tolerate Cecelia, and she appears less educated than Boebert.
DeleteThe words you typed @2:24 PM make no sense, Corby. No meaning whatsoever. Sorry.
So sorry for you too @2:31. Not everyone gets to go to college, where they teach you how to read and think.
DeleteLike a blind squirrel, if you keep calling everyone Corby, maybe you'll find the real Corby some day. But how would you ever know?
I am Corby.
DeleteTrump gave a Mark Levine Fox interview and spoke to the Cal GOP. Both times he spoke about a giant valve in Northen California. Waved his arm and said it's as big as this room. He said Newsome commie, socialist, child mutilator that he is wouldn't open the valve to protect a fish. Said there is so much water the entire central valley would flush with billions in crops. That rich people in Beverly Hills would no longer smell bad as they could now shower proper. He said the valve is so big it takes all day to open. I think he thinks N. CA is higher and water will flow down. He also does not seem to know a valve this big could easily be spotted by Google Earth; and the reservoir behind d in would need to be on scale of the Great Lakes. But you fuckers are worried about Biden's age?
DeleteIt’s voters who are worried about Biden’s age. But - pretend otherwise if you want.
DeleteVoters are worried about Trump's craziness. Which is worse, being old or being crazy AND old? Do you think voters can't figure this out?
Delete@5:08 -- you can prove it by arguing with Dogface. The rest of us are getting tired of him.
DeleteActually, arguing with Hit-and-Hide Anonymice is a fool’s game.
DeleteAnd yet you guys keep trying to call out Corby, who isn't here these days.
DeleteDogface, a younger Bob would have asked “who prompted those voters?”
DeleteSomerby called the journalists clueless for "not understanding" why Republicans have successfully portrayed Biden as too old. Even while admitting he "doesn’t have the energy to campaign in the way that he would have a couple of years ago.".
DeleteSomerby said he thinks it is obvious why adversaries have been able successfully label him as old.
Commenters misinterpreted Somerby's post, thinking he was depicting Biden as old. In reality, he criticized these educated journalists for failing to even understand how Biden's opponents effectively framed him as aged.
DeleteThe three people quoted said they don’t understand the concern given Biden’s accomplishments and Trump’s obvious weaknesses. I don’t understand it either. But Biden’s opponents are framing him as too old, and Somerby joins them.
Deletemh: The reporters in question say they couldn't fathom how Republicans could claim Biden is too old. But at the same time they acknowledge his diminished energy. This gives support to Somerby's claim of cluelessness on their part.
DeleteWe all know you don't agree.
Diminished energy is not diminished competence.
DeleteHow does that relate to the issue of the reporters not being able to understand how the Republicans could paint Biden as too old?
DeleteOne of those reporters made a starring performance in Durham's unsuccessful indictment of Sussman. It's interesting how connected they are to the Clinton campaign. They colluded with the Clinton campaign lawyers who gave them a phony story about Trump and Russia and not only did they write it, the sent Clinton operatives drafts of their story to review before they published it!!
DeleteIn this case it wasn't the cluelessness of the whale that above all things is appalling, it's the corruption and sleaziness.
https://twitter.com/BarryMeier/status/1438831365705904130/photo/1
DeleteIt’s voters who pretend they are worried about Biden’s age. But - think otherwise if you want.
DeleteFixed it for you.
9:10: Surely the same way the voters cared about Al Gore’s buttons back in 2000…The media plays a role in creating narratives and manufacturing opinions. The constant drumbeat of the “Biden is old and worn out” from the media affects voters’ opinions. This is an uncontroversial view that this blog got right 23 years ago.
DeleteThese reporters are shaping the narrative and opinion that Biden is too old by pretending not to understand it?
DeleteI don't get it.
These three people are singled out by Somerby because they are not saying Biden is too old. That's why he has chosen to call them names.
DeleteI thought the media was promoting the "Biden is old and worn out" narrative, but two influential media figures here not only don't use it, they don't see how age could be an issue at all.
DeleteTherefore, the narrative you suggest may not be as uncontroversial as you assumed. There are probably many more prevalent factors shaping public perceptions of Biden's perceived incapacities.
Only a 14 year old girl oozes over a candidate because he is so manly, and not because of his job performance. What good is Trump's amplified unctuous voice if he cannot say anything true or even coherent?
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, Are you looking for a professional trader, cryptocurrency/forex and binary manager who will help you trade and manager your account with good and massive amount of profit in return. you can contact Mr. Bernie for your investment plan, for he helped me earned $8,600 usd with little investment of $850 usd. Mr Bernie Doran you're the best trader I can recommend for anyone who wants to invest and trade with a genuine trader, he also helps in recovery of loss funds..you can contact him on his whatsapp: +1(424)285-0682 Email:(berniedoransignals@gmail.com)I advice you shouldn't hesitate He's great.
DeleteHere is are the main points of today's essay by Somerby:
ReplyDelete1. Going to college is bad.
2. Biden is old.
3. The blue tribe is bad because we haven't figured out how to make Biden younger.
Actually, his main points are:
Delete1. Mainstream journalists are incompetent.
2. The incompetence of mainstream journalists harms the electoral propects of liberals.
And what is the evidence presented by Somerby in support of that? Nothing, except three pundits say they are less concerned about Biden's age than Somerby is. That is a difference of opinion, not incompetence.
Delete6:34 - you misread the post. Not "less concerned", the three journalists claimed to not even "understand" how anyone could frame Biden as old.
DeleteI don’t either. His accomplishments show he is fit for the job.
DeleteThe journalists should all, every one of them, be talking about how old and feeble Biden is. Not one of them should ever suggest anything but existential angst about the election prospects of Joe Biden. This in no way helps undermine Biden’s candidacy. No sir. It’s just truth telling. Speak of Biden’s relative effectiveness as President, and Somerby will label you clueless, a failure.
ReplyDeleteComically, the issues of Biden’s age and energy level are all over the mainstream media, but Somerby wants to pick out a few journalists who don’t push that narrative as being worthless.
I think you read too much into this. Somerby’s essay today is simply a continuation of his long-standing project of compiling examples of mainstream media cluelessness. Today, Somerby criticizes three media personalities for wondering why voters might be concerned about Biden’s apparent diminished capacity. Somerby feels the reason for the voters’ concern is obvious - Biden’s public demeanor.
DeleteIt’s long been Somerby’s thesis that a clueless media fails to serve liberal interests.
What is clueless about touting Biden's accomplishments and saying his age doesn't matter? Biden's polling would be a lot worse if a lot of Democrats didn't feel that way.
DeleteBiden's accomplishments contradict the argument of diminished capacity. They are concrete evidence against it. Calling journalists who consider those facts are not "clueless". Somerby is calling them names because they disagree with him. This idea that there is a lot of "concern" is Somerby's trolling, not a reflect of voter attitudes. As several people have pointed out, Biden's numbers are no worse than other incumbents this far before an election, incumbents who went on to win reelection. If Biden's age were so worrying to anyone, it would show in his polling, but it does not.
Somerby's concern for liberal interests is concern trolling given that most of what he says here actually advances right wing interests, including his incessant battering of Biden over his age without acknowledging his strengths.
Favorability polling and likely voter polling, not surveys about "who would you like to run for office" polls.
DeleteHave you seen the polls? If the election were held today, Trump would almost certainly win.
DeleteHard for me to believe, but true.
Polls sample a finite number of people according to some model. They don't predict turnout very well. They got the reaction of suburban women to rolling back abortion rights completely wrong. Biden's victory in 2020 was bigger than polls predicted.
DeleteSaying that Trump would win when the margins have been within the margin of error (except for one poll that everyone has been calling flawed) is foolish, suggesting you don't understand what "margin of error" means.
Pundits are saying that whichever party is divided tends to lose. The Republicans are in complete disarray, and now RFK Jr. is going to cut into their base. They used to be more unified around Trump, but that is falling apart. And now Biden has his track record to run on, instead of just being Not-Trump. Women have been abandoning the Republican party over abortion rights and other threats to their full citizenship.
Saying that Trump might win is one thing, but saying that he "almost certainly" will win is majorly foolish.
The midterms and special elections are showing a Democratic surge among voters. Republicans will be lucky if the election isn't a total blowout in favor of Biden, despite his age.
I suspect that no matter who was running as the Democratic candidate, Somerby would find a way to call that person terrible. He labeled every one of them running in the 2020 primary terrible.
ReplyDeleteBut, by gum, he’ll still vote for them, even if they aren’t FDR reincarnated, dammit.
I can’t help but think how easy it would be to label Al Gore a member of the “meritocratic elite.” Is Somerby going to re-examine his old roommate?
ReplyDeleteThis charge of “meritocratic elite” (its a new-fangled term; somerby has preferred “elitists” in the past) has been applied for a long time to Democrats like Clinton and Obama, while rarely being used to describe Bush, Bush, McCain, Romney, Trump. The Republican Party with media support has somehow branded itself the party of the working man, while enacting policies that harm the working man.
"Our journalists go to the finest schools. Things tend to go downhill from there."
DeleteRepublican politicians go to the finest schools too. Except the ones who lie about their accomplishments, and Lauren Boebert of course.
Does their participation in the meritocratic elite account for their dysfunction in the House? In fairness, Somerby should extend his argument to them.
Jim Jordan was a wrestling champion at the University of Wisconside Madison, where he got a degree in economics. That qualified him to preside for years over a sexual abuse scandal:
"In a November lawsuit that dozens of victims filed against Ohio State, an unnamed wrestling referee claimed Strauss masturbated while staring at him in the shower. The referee says he told Jordan about the incident in 1994 or 1995, but Jordan brushed it off."
Kevin McCarthy started out well, attending community college and then Cal State Bakersfield, but he ruined that fine record by getting an MBA. Perhaps that is the cause of his downfall as speaker?
Matt Gaetz got his degree from William & Mary in Virginia, followed by a law degree. William & Mary is considered a "public ivy" which means it has the status of an ivy league school while costing less in tuition. It had the first Phi Beta Kappa chapter and was the first law school in the country. Perhaps that is why Matt Gaetz is such a thoroughly awful person, obstructing House business, accused of sex scandals involving under age girls? Kids start out with a promising future and then are turned extremist by their nasty colleges. Right, Somerby?
Somerby is a media critic, not a politician critic.
DeleteCalling particular people clueless is not media criticism. It is name-calling. If Somerby weren't calling Biden old, he would be calling him fat. Neither is any kind of media criticism. Did I mention that Somerby thinks Biden is old?
Delete@12:37 PM - "Somerby was a media critic, now a politician critic."
DeleteFTFY
Somerby has singled out three journalists for criticism who are supporting Biden. Is that a coincidence?
DeleteSomerby specifically states that this blog is not just about media criticism but musings on the American discourse.
DeleteFurthermore, this is how Somerby seems to define musings: any thoughts that pop in his head that align with right wing talking points, anecdotes encouraged, feelings encouraged, evidence will not be offered.
"Members of this particular elite have served the liberal / progressive world very poorly over the past thirty years. This dates back to the days when they couldn't explain whether Newt Gingrich was proposing cuts to the Medicare program or was simply proposing that we reduce the rate at which the Medicare program would grow."
ReplyDeleteThese three particular jounalists are not quite old enough to be held responsible for not attacking Newt Gingrich 30 years ago.
Somerby keeps claiming that age matters, but he conveniently forgets their ages when he wants to blame three "particular" journalists for not attacking Gingrich from their intern and newbie journalists jobs.
Any journalist will do. Somerby has no time to look up who the main journalists were when Gingrich was proposing their cuts, much less where they went to school.
From Florida’s stop woke act:
ReplyDelete“Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are not racist but fundamental to the right to pursue happiness and be rewarded for industry.”
Have Isaacson and Somerby violated this act?
Corby must be off for a long weekend.
ReplyDeleteEvidently, mh is covering, and yesterday it was was Unamused—AKA Auntie Nelda.
Hamas—- sons-of-bitches!
If you want to talk about people, join a church.
DeleteIDF — violent and cruel.
DeleteEspecially when attacked.
Delete“These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force," Trump said in a statement."
DeleteAuntie Nelda. It's Saturday night and the box wine is talking.
DeleteSure, Auntie.
DeleteNot your best work, which is, unfortunately, marginally better.
DeleteSomerby suggests that people don't care about infrastructure unless it affects them (e.g., a bridge falls on them). I doubt that is true, but assuming it is, do people also not care about jobs? Do they not care about covid vaccines? Do they not care about student loans? Is it only the people with relatives in Ukraine who care about our support for Ukraine?
ReplyDeleteWill Somerby say that people just don't care about any of Biden's accomplishments? Given that the Democrats joined Republicans to stop a government shutdown, do people not care about that accomplishment either? Is this how you make an elderly but effective president seem doddering? Say that no one cares about the good job he has done?
Isn't it possible that people don't care about Biden's age too? I care about infrastructure (I drive a car in CA), but I don't care how old Biden is, much less about his dog or whether he stutters. And I don't see any place where Somerby says that people SHOULD care about infrastructure, or that Biden's age doesn't seem to impair his effectiveness as president. A supporter might say that, instead of just advancing Republican talking points (such as that infrastructure doesn't matter).
Bob’s contention that no one cares
Deleteabout infrastructure is a dubious
generalized only supported by his
own snooty posturing.
Let's look at these three accomplishments
ReplyDelete1. a massive vaccine rollout -- This was done by the drug companies. If any President deserves credit, it would be Trump. He made a big fuss about various things to speed vaccine development and distribution.
2. the biggest infrastructure investment since the Eisenhower administration -- Spending money is not an accomplishment. We don't praise Ike for all the money he spent. We praise him for actually building the interstate highway system. Our electric grid is in danger. Various bridges need refurbishing. Tell us what Biden accomplished on the infrastructure.
3. the lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years -- it's certainly true that unemployment is incredibly low. But, what did Biden do to accomplish this? Was it Biden's policies or just good luck?
David, I am talking about the rollout of this latest booster, which has quickly addressed these troubling new variants. Biden is continuing vigilance against covid instead of assuming that it is over.
DeleteSpending money is not an accomplishment, but convincing congress to spend that money is. Nor is the purpose of infrastructure investment only to spend money. It boosts the economy and provides working class jobs at a point where our economy is fragile due to covid's impact in 2020. Recall that this is the first thing Biden did after taking office. The psychological effect is important too. Investing in our country's strength when we are feeling battered helps all of us feel more hopeful. The infrastructure bill included a lot of different kinds of projects under that term, suggested by local leaders according to what was needed in each state.
One thing Biden did to encourage more jobs was to invest in new alternative energy projects, including solar and wind. That sector is booming. He supported the auto industry after covid shutdown. He provided workers with extended unemployment, and helped the companies in the industries that were affected by covid, so that their jobs would be available afterward. Biden's legislation, The American Rescue Plan Act, accelerated the recovery when it started to slow down.
"Comparing the actual labor market outcome with forecasts from independent analysts before the ARPA went into effect suggests a similar effect. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), for example, estimated in February 2021—after President Biden was elected but before Congress passed the ARPA—that job growth from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 would total 5.5 million jobs.19 Instead, during this time, the number of jobs grew by 6.7 million, or more than 1 million additional jobs.
In comparison, Moody’s Analytics estimates that the ARPA added more than 4 million jobs in 2021.20 Moreover, Moody’s estimates reflect the serious nature of the slowdown in winter 2021, which the ARPA helped keep from turning into something even more dire."
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/bidens-jobs-boom-how-policies-boosted-the-labor-market-recovery-in-2021/
Another way to measure this is to compare the US recovery against that of other developed country. The US has recovered more quickly and to a greater extent than European countries, where the recession due to covid has lingered longer. This is credited to Biden's ARPA legislation, which was done immediately upon his taking office, to help American workers stay afloat until the markets and supply chains could recover. The attention to the needs of workers during covid has resulted in a stronger economy and recovery now, because those people have not only survived and reentered the workforce, but contributed as consumers and taxpayers instead of welfare recipients. Biden's quick action, supported by Congress (which functioned then), prevented a major depression and is the reason our economy is strong today. Comparisons are made in this cited article to recovery after the 2008 recession and the return of workers after WWII.
Note that the article suggests Biden added over 4 million jobs beyond the trend line at the end of Trump's term. That is not good luck but quick action based on analysis of previous recessions and enactment of specific policies to encourage faster recovery.
This is why so many people are calling Biden the greatest president since FDR.
Trump gets credit, or blame, for the policies promulgated by executive branch agencies, such as the FDA, acting pursuant to his authority.
DeleteI can't take anything from Dave in Cal seriously until he finds Trump's giant valve in Northern California.
DeleteTrump obstructed the efforts of his agencies to deal with covid.
DeleteCrickets from David about the response to his question about how Biden helped the recovery and created jobs. He'll wait a week and then say the same stupid shit again, as if no one had ever responded to his ignorance.
DeleteIn the short run, deficits tend to boost the economy. Deficits caused by tax cuts are a bigger boost than deficits caused by government spending, because many US companies compete with companies abroad.
DeleteIn the long run, a price must be paid for deficits. Today, interest in the national debt is as big as military spending. The cost of this interest will rise rapidly, due to higher bond rates and a growing national debt. in the coming years, the government will need some combination of bigger and bigger deficits, big cuts in spending and big increases in tax revenue. Meanwhile, the deficit spending is causing inflation. IMO the inflation will not be controlled by the Fed just raising interest rates.
Government investments in new forms of energy creates some jobs, but the rising cost of energy also reduces jobs by a greater amount. In general, private spending more than government spending.
David in Cal, we know you know 1/3 of the debt was created by Trump's only major legislation, tax cuts for rich folk and corporations. And we know you know how the deficit is doing under Biden. A shameless fraud trickling down.
DeleteActual economists disagree with you David.
Delete"a massive vaccine rollout -- This was done by the drug companies"
ReplyDeleteThe drug companies certainly did not do this. The drug companies did not set up public clinics or hire workers to inject patients.
And Trump gets zero credit. His administration walked away, offering little help in transition.
Quaker - No doubt Trump’s Covid public relations response was an absurd clown show (e.g., inject bleach). But, in fairness, I think his principal policy response, Operation Warp Speed, was an important achievement that saved many lives.
Delete(And it’s ironic that he can’t trumpet that achievement because so many Republican primary voters are now anti-caxcers.)
anti-vaxxers
DeleteTrump, imho, had the most reasonable intuitive reaction to COVID: keep calm, don't panic, this is not the end of the world. He was right.
DeleteHad COVID not been politicized up the wazoo by the deep state, everything would've been just perfect: the Swedish model. No lockdowns, no mandates, no hysteria.
Biden has the same "reasonable intuitive reaction" to covid. The problem is that Trump didn't do what he needed to beyond that reaction.
DeleteThe Swedish model worked because people are reasonable there, not because doing nothing was right to do. People didn't ignore the virus and they stayed took precautions voluntarily, because people in the scandinavian social democracies care about each other, are cooperative and conscientious.
I would call the anti-vaxx people more hysterical than those who followed CDC guidelines. Operation Warp Speed was not conducted by Trump but by the very people who are now being villainized. Don't forget they are calling for Fauci to be jailed or worse.
When they conducted the recent test of emergency digital notification system, the Q-Anon crowd thought the govt was plannning to take over their digital devices. They were instructed to take out their cell phone batteries and simm cards and put them in Faraday containers, along with their credit cards, which might also be read during the test.
DeleteIf something bad does happen, they will be the last ones to hear about it. That will be the result of some govt plot too, I'm sure.
Some people just don't want to allow anyone to help them. These are the people who think Trump did a good job with covid, since doing nothing to help them is exactly what they want -- anyone actually trying to give them health care when they got sick and were hospitalized were abused by family members, who interfered actively with their treatment. Their deaths were especially sad to those who stood by, since no one was able to do anything to help them, especially those who overdosed on ivermectin or bleach.
That didn't happen in Sweden, you betcha!
Corby, The Adorable:
Delete"...because people in the scandinavian social democracies care about each other, are cooperative and conscientious."
BBC, last month:
"The Swedish army is stepping in to support police in tackling a recent surge in gang killings, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has announced.
He said that from next week the army would start providing assistance with analysis and logistics, as well as in handling explosives and forensic work.
Mr Kristersson added that Sweden's laws also needed updating to enable more military involvement. "
"On Thursday, Mr Kristersson said Sweden had not seen anything like it before and that "no other country in Europe" was experiencing this kind of situation."
5:32,
DeleteI took Bob's advice and spoke with "the Others". They agree with you that Trump played down COVID because it's only a bad code. Also, they say it's a bioweapon developed in a Chinese lab in order for China to take over the world, so it's also super important to deal with, but Trump ignoring it is kat anyway.
Me, I just laugh because Trump tried to gaslight a global pandemic, like it was some common NY Times political reporter, or a gullible fool Right-winger.
And what does this have to do with people in Sweden wearing masks and voluntarily staying home when they are sick instead of requiring a govt mandate?
DeletePulling quotes out of context is stoopid.
Riiight, Corby, I get it: the Swedes are a superior race.
DeleteTheir gang violence that has to be suppressed by the military notwithstanding.
How many Swedes waste their time trolling blogs?
DeleteNo one is talking race here except you, asshole.
Sweedes aren’t Norwegians, or even Danes, but aren’t bad people.
DeleteSorry, but you are talking race, Corby.
DeleteThe Swedes inside your head all "care about each other, are cooperative and conscientious."
It's so sad that such superior race of people needs (in real world) the military to suppress their gang violence. So sad.
Are they all vegans, by chance?
DeleteAs a nation, those are things Swedish people, Finns, Danes and Norwegians tend to value, just as we as a nation value individual liberty. Iceland had few covid difficulties either, because they worked together to implement methods of staying safer. If you don't understand the difference between cultural values and race, that is your problem, but you are mostly just wilfully misconstruing what I said, baiting me, because you think I am Corby (I am not).
DeleteI am Corby.
DeleteFinnish is not an Indo-European language.
You're so smart, Corby.
DeleteOf course it's the superior Swedish ethnic culture -- not race -- that makes the Swedes "care about each other, be cooperative and conscientious.". Thank you for explaining this to me, Corby.
Too bad about those gang killings, no? But they probably hug each other and cry after each gang killing. So nice.
Sweden avoided mandates and lockdowns, but they still did the things people did in other countries, they wore masks, they worked from home, but voluntarily.
Delete"It seems likely that Sweden did much better than other countries in terms of the economy, education, mental health, and domestic abuse, and still had less than half the excess death rate of the United States."
But is less than half the excess death rate really a good result? The irresponsibility of Trump and the right wing produced excess deaths (preventable deaths) making the US far from exemplary in its response. Being half as bad as we were doesn't strike me as wonderful. It is also unclear whether the lower rates for social dysfunction were related to covid measures or to a healthier society in general. A comparison to pre-covid rates would be needed to demonstrate that.
When certain segments of US society were actively resisting measures to protect the elderly and contain the spread of covid, lockdowns and mandates were made more necessary.
"but they still did the things people did in other countries"
DeleteNo, they did not, you're lying. No lockdowns, no mandates, no masks: they only recommended - not mandated - masks in public transport, and dropped even that recommendation quite soon.
They didn't ruin their economy, and didn't tyrannize their people. If that's the same as other countries, then how would the opposite look like?
I am Corby.
DeleteI am not prejudiced against Finns. Some of my best friends are Finnish.
I am Corby. Finnish culture is inferior to Swedish. But superior to Czech.
DeleteThe Czechs are not very conscientious.
DeleteCzechs are good. Slovaks are good. I just happen to like Czechs better. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with Slovaks. There isn’t. It’s just my personal preference.
DeleteI am not Corby.
I am Corby. The Americans are extremely uncooperative. They need to be whipped, daily. By conscientious Democrats. For their own good.
DeletePeople wore masks and worked from home as much as possible in Sweden, out of cooperation, not because it was mandated. If you think they took no precautions, you are loony.
DeletePeople who wanted to wear masks wore masks, Corby. People who didn't, did not. No one forced them to wear masks. That's the point.
DeleteAnd everyone loves to work from home; covid or no covid.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNo, 2:05. That isn’t the full story.
Delete“In a survey by Sweden’s Public Health Agency from the spring of 2020, more than 80% of Swedes reported they had adjusted their behaviour, “
And
“Sweden has a history of high trust in authorities, and people tend to comply with public health recommendations.”
From Kevin drum’s blog:
https://jabberwocking.com/whats-the-real-story-with-sweden-and-covid-19/
No, they weren’t forced to change their behavior, because they changed anyway.
Here in the US, the extreme politicization meant that large numbers of people refused to voluntarily change their behavior.
Oh, is it Kevin Drum himself, the famous expert?
DeleteHere's what science.org reports:
"Swedish authorities actively discouraged people from wearing face masks, which they said would spread panic, are often worn the wrong way, and can provide a false sense of safety. Some doctors who insisted on wearing a mask at work have been reprimanded or even fired."
This is the source of Drum’s quotes, linked to in his post:
Delete“Did Sweden’s controversial COVID strategy pay off? In many ways it did – but it let the elderly down”
https://www.preventionweb.net/news/did-swedens-controversial-covid-strategy-pay-many-ways-it-did-it-let-elderly-down
"Here in the US, the extreme politicization meant that large numbers of people refused to voluntarily change their behavior."
DeleteYes. Politicize and then coerce -- that's all for their own good.
And who the hell is preventionweb.net? The super-expert in everything Sweden?
And what does "adjusted their behaviour" mean, exactly? Switched from Absolute to Punsch? From 69 to doggy style?
Dogface: The statement in question, though, specifically refers to the rollout of the vaccine, not the development of it. The vaccine was made available to the public in the early days of the Biden administration.
DeleteIn reality, George, anti-vaxxers are mostly liberals: vegans, health/natural foods nuts, and such.
DeletePeople who your politburo identifies as "anti-vaxxers" are, usually, against the vaccination mandates, not vaccines.
Doggy style is the best style.
Delete2:44: a little research is all it takes:
Delete“PreventionWeb is the global knowledge sharing platform for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience.
The site offers a range of knowledge products and services to facilitate the work of DRR professionals and is managed by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).”
https://www.preventionweb.net/about-preventionweb
A yes, a UN Office. In Geneva. Of course. I know, a bunch of pencil-pushing overpaid international bureaucrats sipping 20-Euro-a-bottle Bordeaux on the shore of Lac Leman can't be wrong.
DeleteNo one can be wrong.
DeleteNot all journalists go to the finest schools. The ones who do are more likely to wind up in highly visible positions at major papers. There are journalists at lesser papers and news stations and so on, all over the country, and this is a big country so there are lots of them. Somerby's obsessive focus on just the New York Times and the Washington Post makes it appear to him that only people from elite schools become journalists.
ReplyDeleteFor example, Colleen Nelson, managing editor of the Sacramento Bee, went to the University of Kansas. Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, Editor in Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle, went to the University of Maryland. Megan Schrader, Editor of the Opinion pages at the Denver Post went to the University of Missouri - Columbia.
Somerby can cite these elite Northeast Schools attended by journalists at the NY Times and Washington Post because New England Ivy league schools feed into jobs on the East coast. At the Los Angeles Times, journalists attend Western schools such as UCLA and UC Berkeley as their elite schools, but elsewhere, journalists attend the schools that feed into regional jobs there, including Midwest schools.
This is Somerby's distorted lens through which he sees the world, but he generalizes it to the entire country and to journalists everywhere, when that is not what is going on.
I think Somerby’s point about alma maters is this:
DeleteHumans can do amazing things. I’m typing these letters on a computer I’m holding in my hand, and I soon as I click “Publish” you can read those words on a computer you hold in your hand. And yet when it comes to journalists, even the highest tier, working at the most prestigious outlets, often cannot reason very well, instead regurgitating scripts.
The argument is that even the best are like this.
We understand Somerby’s point but many of us disagree. He does not provide convincing evidence.
DeleteBob stuck a lot of cabbage to his
ReplyDeletereverse snob snobbery today but it
provoked a pretty good thread.
"Wall Street Journal: “The concern that their age somehow disqualifies them from public office doesn’t really align with the state of aging in the year 2023. There’s biological truth to the adage that age is just a number. Americans on average are healthier in old age than before. Many of the factors that predict longer life favor Biden and Trump, based on publicly released information about their health.”
ReplyDeleteBob is too old to blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat whale is Somerby talking about?
ReplyDeleteThis is cluelessness:
ReplyDelete"Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) was interviewed on Face the Nation by Margaret Brennan about the Speaker’s race:
BRENNAN: Do the past allegations of Jim Jordan that he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse give you reservations?
MACE: I’m not familiar or aware of that.
BRENNAN: Ohio State University allegations.
MACE: I don’t know anything."
Not cluelessness. Lying far right wing phoney.
Delete"Iran had the $6 billion in a South Korean bank, which Biden approved for humanitarian aid only, because Trump allowed Iran to sell the oil. The funding for the Hamas attack on Israel did not come from the deal that Biden made to bring American prisoners home from Iran."
ReplyDeleteAnd, how do we know this?
DeleteDo you think that Iran operates like some college kid who depends on his parents to venmo his monthly allowance? You cannot be so dull as to think that the actions of Hamas depended on a transfer of 6 billion dollars to Iran. Incidentally the assertion that media bias will be the reason Biden will win the election is equally stupid. Almost as stupid as voting for a clown who publically thanks Hannibal Lecter for his support. What an embarrassment. Then again, if he is elected we won't be getting into WW II, or be lead into an Iran like conflict as did the former governor of Florida. Dementia until proven otherwise.
DeleteTo bad we walked away from the JCPOA.
DeleteToo bad.
DeleteI think Iran is a state that supports terrorists. The more money they have, the more they can afford to support terrorism.
DeleteFurthermore, there was no urgent reason to give this incredible sum of money to Iran. I find this decision incomprehensible.
It was Iran's money. Trump told Iran it could sell oil, removing that sanction, which they did. The money is still being held in a South Korean bank account for them. Biden said that the money could be used for humanitarian purposes, as part of the hostage release deal. He did not give the money to Iran. It was already theirs. Further, the money is still being held and has not been released, so it was not used to fund this attack.
Delete@6:43 PM - where's your evidence of Iranian involvement? Their reputation, even if true, is not evidence. Your speculation is not proof. In short, and as usual, ya got nothin'.
Deletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iran-helped-plot-attack-on-israel-over-several-weeks/ar-AA1hT2XD
DeleteOne man's terrorists, the other man's national liberation movement.
DeleteCould also be viewed as an empirical lesson of potentially catastrophic results of unrestricted illegal immigration (of a large group of post-WWII Europeans into Palestine).
That’s a different argument from the one stating that there is no evidence of Iranian involvement in the attack.
DeleteEither way, it’s no hard task to ascertain where your sentiments lies.
But why single out Iran specifically? All pro-Palestinian forces are involved, to one degree or another. And that's probably a vast majority of this planet's population, probably well over a hundred countries.
DeleteFor example, don't you think Egypt might be involved in some way?
I thought the question was whether that 6 billion dollars was used to fund the attack, not whether Iran was involved.
Deletemh, it’s moved from that, to there’s no evidence that Iran is involved, to Iran isn’t the only country funding terrorism. They all do it…
DeleteIt’s the anonymouse way.
If you spent $6 billion on a hundred of small unguided rockets and a dozen of motorized paraplanes, you've been ripped off. And that would be a rip off of the century.
DeleteThis is not about billions. This is about people. Heavily motivated people, on a mission that stretches over seven decades, several generations.
DIC declares that there was no urgent reason to give this incredible amount of money to Iran. Apart from that this was Iranian money, and apart from that the money has not yet been transferred to Iran, there is this other fact. The Iranian GDP in 2023 was 568 billion dollars. This so-called incredible amount of money is 1.05% of the 2023 GDP of Iran. The GDP of a single year. For an actuary to be this innumerate as to call 1.05% of the annual GDP of Iran an incredible amount of money is farcical.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that Iran needed the transfer of 1.05% of its 2023 GDP in order to fund the Hamas terrorist act is right wing buffoonery, straight out of Fox or some similar right wing outlet.
DeleteOn Meet The Press this morning-
DeleteSECRETARY BLINKEN: Iran has – Iran has, unfortunately, always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas, and it’s done that when there have been sanctions, it’s done that there haven’t been sanctions. And it’s always prioritized that. And again, I come back to the proposition that from – these funds have always been, under the law, available to Iran to use for humanitarian purposes. The Trump administration set up a very similar mechanism to enable Iran to use these kinds of assets for humanitarian purposes. We’ve done the same thing”
Why are we doing this? This scenario is the essence of the fungible argument. .
"Humanitarian purposes", Cecelia.
DeleteAnd right on cue, along comes DiC, demanding we prove the negative.
DeleteOur American military has openly stated that members of the republican party have placed them and by extension this country at preparedness and security risk, but republican panties get all wadded up over a nominally insignificant amount of money that has not yet been physically appropriated to its owner. And of course their right wing minions, without doing the math (the Iranian economy being valued at 36 trillion dollars) , once again summon up their righteous indignation on cue. The Iranians can just as well use that money, it being fungible and all, on their uranium program, which analysts noted to have accelerated after Trump broke with European allies and left the JCPOA. You know, the guy who couldn't bother with security breifings.
Delete@Auntie Nelda
Delete"Our American military has openly stated that members of the republican party have placed them and by extension this country at preparedness and security risk"
If indeed someone in the military openly stated this, they should be court-martialed and imprisoned immediately.
Unless, of course, we are officially a banana republic already.
8:09, I think they swear an oath to the Constitution, not some hick football coach from Alabama.
Delete@middleschoolpantywadder
Delete" if indeed someone blah blah blah" do you even read or watch the news? Pathetic display. And no, we are not the fascist regime of your wet dreams, so no one is going to prison.
@Auntie Nelda
DeleteSorry, no, I don't read or watch "the news" distributed at your asylum. Anything entertaining recently? Humor me, please.
Unamused, you read what Blinken said on MTP. There is no indication that he thinks that Iran will become more amenable to the West via pressure from their oil clients.
DeleteWhy are we doing this? Why have any presidents done this?
"Humanitarian purposes", Cecelia.
DeleteWe're never going to change the religious theocratic fanatics who have returned Iran to the Dark Ages. See how useless it is in our own country trying to change the minds of the people trying to turn our own democracy into a Christo-fascist theocracy? Futile. But the majority of the Iranian people want to become more westernized and get rid of the Mullahs. It is a difficult dilemma.
Anonymouse 10:40pm, just going with your frame of mind and perspective and the only language you speak, it would still be the difference between 1960 and 632BC.
DeleteWe’ve got to stop helping Iran be Iran.
Cecelia: I feel your pain. Up to a point. A small amount of money relative to the 36 trillion in wealth harbored in Iran's economy is still held in Qatar, that money being Iran's to begin with. It has not been freed up to them yet. The current administration's decision to give them back their money for Americans to be freed has the people and their readers over at Red State and other right wing outlets frothing at the mouth. Their reactions are predictably histrionic. Were it their family members that were being exchanged for Iran's own money, they might have a more nuanced take on the matter. Or were it their family members that the Biden administration was not attempting to free from Iranian prison, they would be certainly all over it with how little this administration cares about these innocent victims, especially since their freedom does not require ransom with American money. But such is not the case, thankfully for them, and they can dismiss the lives and freedoms of these people easily because they are not members of their family. They are assholes who want to make a political point over this matter when the amount of money in question is on the order of 1% of Iran's GDP and was Iran's to begin with, irrespective of their nefarious intentions.For them to make a direct link between this money and the events beginning yesterday is jumping the shark nonsense, theatrical bullshit, but right up their alley.
DeleteI am currently planning on opening a bank account in Qatar so that I can purchase my dream luxury yacht without making a withdrawal. If you want one, I'll make that two.
Delete