…is too kind to Paul Krugman. He only says that he’s “intellectually lazy.”
13 thoughts on “Paul Ryan”
Have anyone in the GOP signed on to the roadmap? I know that Boehner and Pawlenty have said “no way” and that Gingrich and McConnell have come out against Medicare cuts.)
I do recognize that Ryan has promoted this as the starting point for a debate. And given the voice that Krugman has in the media you cannot allow him to get away with lazy or reckless statements again and again. But as fun as it is to slap Krugman down from time to time, that is not debate. The GOP needs to get as serious as Ryan in debating ideas, or they will fall into the same trap as the current administration by simply campaigning against the incumbent.
The GOP needs to get as serious as Ryan in debating ideas, or they will fall into the same trap as the current administration by simply campaigning against the incumbent.
QFE.
Ryan opens his article by arguing that “European welfare states collapse under the weight of their own debt.” This is a false statement, as France, Germany and the Scandanavian countries are not having debt problems. Nor, for that matter, is Great Britain or Japan, countries with higher debt-to-GDP ratios then the US.
Krugman has repeatedly said that we need economic growth to get out of the deficit. He’s also pointed out that two wars funded on a tax cut caused a surplus to become a deficit in the first place.
In short, Ryan needs to put some actual numbers on the table.
So which malicious idiot cruelly created the acronym PIIGS? I know the European welfare states of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain must be pissed
So what do you call it when in your first post you call Ryan’s opening statement false and in your second post you provide a link that rebuts your first post?
Nor, for that matter, is Great Britain or Japan, countries with higher debt-to-GDP ratios then the US.
That is simply wrong. You chose to ignore the problems these particular countries are having with their high debts (for example, Japan had mediocre growth since 1991, which is a rather long time to screw up your economy). Also, what about the PIGS? What makes you think a high debt US will fly like Scandinavia rather than like Greece?
Every nation in Western Europe took the economic equivalent of a parachute-less dive off of a tall building when they started constructing their Ponzi-scheme welfare states in the 1950’s. Greece is just the first of them to splatter their giblets all over the piazza. The Greek economy is now a round red spot that looks a lot like pizza. Pizza on the piazza.
Yes, Krugman should know better and it’s difficult not to think him dishonest. Certainly he deserves no deference since he is quick to impugn the motives of people he disagrees with. I think Ryan and other non-leftists err when they don’t call people like Krugman (and Obama) on obvious dishonesty. There should be a cost to lying.
Krugman, Gore, Arafat, Obama…. I’m beginning to think that a Nobel Prize is a good indication that the recipient is the exact opposite of what intelligent people would expect the winner of such an award to be.
Jiminator – how does my second link refute my first post?
From your first post: Ryan opens his article by arguing that “European welfare states collapse under the weight of their own debt.” This is a false statement, as France, Germany and the Scandanavian countries are not having debt problems. [emphasis mine]
I think it is fair to say that the phrase “European welfare states” carries the connotation of Greece in particular, but could also identify Spain, Italy, and other mostly southern European nations. But you deliberately identified other countries in your example to accuse Ryan of making a false statement.
Your second post, This guy seems to know pointed to an article that begins with this: Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that some bearish international investors have coined a new term for the countries that they believe are the weak links of the euro zone: PIIGS — which stands for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
In other words, you linked to an article that (properly) refutes your own false identification of the countries to which Ryan was referring.
For what it is worth, I should also note that your use of the phrase “Scandanavian countries” is erroneous. That phrase accurately describes Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and none of these countries is in the Eurozone. Finland is sometimes considered a Scandinavian country in common English usage but Scandanavians themselves consider this usage to be in error.
Some “European welfare states” are having problems. Others are not. Therefore, “European welfare state” is an overly-broad designation.
I think it is particularly significant that the states that are having problems share a common currency (the Euro) but don’t have the kind of economic linkage that, say, US states have.
Have anyone in the GOP signed on to the roadmap? I know that Boehner and Pawlenty have said “no way” and that Gingrich and McConnell have come out against Medicare cuts.)
I do recognize that Ryan has promoted this as the starting point for a debate. And given the voice that Krugman has in the media you cannot allow him to get away with lazy or reckless statements again and again. But as fun as it is to slap Krugman down from time to time, that is not debate. The GOP needs to get as serious as Ryan in debating ideas, or they will fall into the same trap as the current administration by simply campaigning against the incumbent.
QFE.
Ryan opens his article by arguing that “European welfare states collapse under the weight of their own debt.” This is a false statement, as France, Germany and the Scandanavian countries are not having debt problems. Nor, for that matter, is Great Britain or Japan, countries with higher debt-to-GDP ratios then the US.
Krugman has repeatedly said that we need economic growth to get out of the deficit. He’s also pointed out that two wars funded on a tax cut caused a surplus to become a deficit in the first place.
In short, Ryan needs to put some actual numbers on the table.
So which malicious idiot cruelly created the acronym PIIGS? I know the European welfare states of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain must be pissed
This guy seems to know.
So what do you call it when in your first post you call Ryan’s opening statement false and in your second post you provide a link that rebuts your first post?
Nor, for that matter, is Great Britain or Japan, countries with higher debt-to-GDP ratios then the US.
That is simply wrong. You chose to ignore the problems these particular countries are having with their high debts (for example, Japan had mediocre growth since 1991, which is a rather long time to screw up your economy). Also, what about the PIGS? What makes you think a high debt US will fly like Scandinavia rather than like Greece?
Every nation in Western Europe took the economic equivalent of a parachute-less dive off of a tall building when they started constructing their Ponzi-scheme welfare states in the 1950’s. Greece is just the first of them to splatter their giblets all over the piazza. The Greek economy is now a round red spot that looks a lot like pizza. Pizza on the piazza.
Yes, Krugman should know better and it’s difficult not to think him dishonest. Certainly he deserves no deference since he is quick to impugn the motives of people he disagrees with. I think Ryan and other non-leftists err when they don’t call people like Krugman (and Obama) on obvious dishonesty. There should be a cost to lying.
Krugman, Gore, Arafat, Obama…. I’m beginning to think that a Nobel Prize is a good indication that the recipient is the exact opposite of what intelligent people would expect the winner of such an award to be.
Jiminator – how does my second link refute my first post?
From your first post: Ryan opens his article by arguing that “European welfare states collapse under the weight of their own debt.” This is a false statement, as France, Germany and the Scandanavian countries are not having debt problems. [emphasis mine]
I think it is fair to say that the phrase “European welfare states” carries the connotation of Greece in particular, but could also identify Spain, Italy, and other mostly southern European nations. But you deliberately identified other countries in your example to accuse Ryan of making a false statement.
Your second post, This guy seems to know pointed to an article that begins with this: Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that some bearish international investors have coined a new term for the countries that they believe are the weak links of the euro zone: PIIGS — which stands for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
In other words, you linked to an article that (properly) refutes your own false identification of the countries to which Ryan was referring.
For what it is worth, I should also note that your use of the phrase “Scandanavian countries” is erroneous. That phrase accurately describes Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and none of these countries is in the Eurozone. Finland is sometimes considered a Scandinavian country in common English usage but Scandanavians themselves consider this usage to be in error.
Some “European welfare states” are having problems. Others are not. Therefore, “European welfare state” is an overly-broad designation.
I think it is particularly significant that the states that are having problems share a common currency (the Euro) but don’t have the kind of economic linkage that, say, US states have.