Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Krugman Wrong Again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q046lonbv2o&feature=related.......@ 2:43 of the video.

21 comments:

Rusty Shackelford said...

The headline should'nt be "Krugman Wrong Again."

It really should be "Krugman Correct for First Time." If in fact that actually happens.

Dervish Sanders said...

Krugman RIGHT Again!

He said, "the threat of a downgrade is all about the debt limit... the ratings agencies aren't going to downgrade the United States because they don't like long[term] policy. They will downgrade if we default on debt..."

This is 100 percent accurate.

S&P downgraded because the Republicans threatened default. If the debt ceiling had been raised without the "hostage taking" the downgrade wouldn't have happened.

I think you need to change the title of this post. I suggest, "Will Hart Issues Apology to Paul Krugman".

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

He said that the downgrading would NOT occur because of the threat to default. He did say, however, that it WOULD occur if we didn't pass the debt ceiling. We passed the debt ceiling and there was NO default and we still got downgraded. Mr. Krugman's prognostication was, as usual, askew.

Dervish Sanders said...

Will: He said that the downgrading would NOT occur because of the threat to default.

Did you link to the wrong video? I didn't hear him say this (not in the video you linked to). He said the exact opposite. He said whether or not there was a downgrade was ALL ABOUT the debt limit. My conclusion? Krugman was right, as he always is.

You're misinterpreting what he's saying. You seem to do that quite frequently when it comes to Paul Krugman. I think Paul Krugman's genious is just to much for Will to handle. Everything Paul Krugman says goes right over Will's head.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

wd, you're like the little kid on the playground who gets tagged out and claims that he was safe. Everybody on the field says that you're out but you keep on saying that you're safe. Mr. Krugman was clearly saying that this threat of a downgrade was overblown and that it would only probably happen if we failed to pass the debt limit. Compare this to what the sane and reasonable Mr. Brooks was saying, that a downgrade without a solid budget compromise was entirely possible. And he even quoted what the rating agencies themselves were saying (that short of a 4 trillion dollar cut in the debt over the next 10 years a downgrade was possible), for Christ! I mean, I know that you want to blame the Republicans FOR EVERYTHING and on this particular situation, yes, they were quite irresponsible. But this Krugman guy is flat-out full of shit AGAIN.......Oh, and, did you notice, most of the comments agreed with MY interpretation?

Dervish Sanders said...

Will, your insults aren't going to change what I heard. The Republicans threatened default. They clearly said that's their tactic going forward. This is the main reason why S&P downgraded. Paul Krugman was right.

Will: did you notice, most of the comments agreed with MY interpretation?

No, I did not notice this. The comments look about evenly split between rational people and Krugman haters. The comment on top right now says, "[Paul Krugman was] actually not wrong".

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Krugman SAID that the threat pertaining to a downgrade relative to the default issue was "artificial" and "overblown" and that the only way that we would have a downgrade is if we failed to raise the debt-ceiling. HE WAS WRONG. And what you're saying here is total bullshit. The ratings agencies THEMSELVES said that without a grand compromise in the neighborhood of 4 trillion over 10 years, the U.S. was in serious danger of a downgrade. Your spinning for Mr. Krugman on this one, wd, is borderline pathological.

Dervish Sanders said...

Will, I find your spinning against Mr. Krugman on this one (and on the one where you ludicrously claimed he called for a housing bubble), to be borderline pathological.

The default issue WAS artificial and overblown... as it stood. Then the Republicans pushed it beyond where any sane person would go. THAT is the reason for the downgrade. Paul Krugman was 100 percent right.

Only S&P downgraded btw... so what the ratings agencies (plural) said isn't germane. They didn't downgrade (because Paul Krugman was RIGHT).

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

The reason that we're having a problem here, wd, is that I'm reiterating what Mr. Krugman ACTUALLY SAID and you're reiterating what you would have liked him to have said/spinning. Mr. Krugman SAID that the threat of a downgrade was only likely if we didn't raise the debt-ceiling. Mr. Krugman was wrong (oh, because only one of the agencies downgraded us you've decided to give him a pass? really?).............And you're totally full of shit on the reason for the downgrade. How do I know this. Because I listened to the rating agencies during this whole debt-ceiling fiasco. Yes, the Republicans acted like idiots. But that wasn't the major problem. The problem was that the agencies were looking for a significant reduction in our debt and deficit projections (as Mr. Brooks, the sane, nonpartisan, and reasonable one enumerated) and we didn't give it to them. Yes, feel free to blame the Republicans for the stalemate (what in the fuck do I care? I, unlike you, don't waste my time shilling for politicians and political parties). But in terms of their predictions, Mr. Brooks totally wiped the floor with Crazy Eyes.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I watched the video again because I want to be fair. And, yes, it was Mr. Brooks who said that not getting a big deal would in fact put us at risk of a downgrade (quoting the ratings agencies while doing so) and that establishing a framework was essential for us to proceed. This, as opposed to Mr. Krugman who said that threat of a downgrade was ALL ABOUT THE DEBT CEILING, that is WASN'T about the need to construct a grand bargain, that "going small was the wisest course", that "kicking the can down the road another 18 months was a good thing" and that the threat of a downgrade was a "fake threat" (he actually didn't think that they would follow through on their threats duh!). My God, wd, the fact that you continue to give this lunatic any credence at all is amazing.

Rusty Shackelford said...

Zip code.....the sane people here dont want to hear from you.

Now scurry back under your rock.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

If he isn't Cliffy, Russ, he's gotta be a second cousin perhaps. I mean, who in the hell else would do something like this?

Rusty Shackelford said...

Dont know who he is and really dont give a shit who he is.

Not Clif though....has'nt said a word about the army and after Clif spent 15 years handing out underware and socks as a supply officer he could'nt resist mentioning it.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

And he fails to make an important distinction. Lydia never once asked us not to post on her blog. If in fact she had, I would have fully obliged her. I mean, duh, huh?

Mordechai said...

Who is Lydia?

Rusty Shackelford said...

Lydia is your mom zip code....you remember your mom....we all do,she was something.Hubba,hubba.

Mordechai said...

Really rusty,

you seem to think you know so much,

why do you have lie so much all the time

like you just did there.

Is it because you actually know so little,

that your lies are just a feeble attempt,

to mask your ignorance?

Dervish Sanders said...

Will: And you're totally full of shit on the reason for the downgrade... I listened to the rating agencies during this whole debt-ceiling fiasco.

I guess you didn't listen closely enough. Or, you lisetend but heard what you would have liked them to have said.

Here's what S&P actually said...

"The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy".

[continued] "Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act".

The downgrade was due to the Republicans threatening to not raise the debt ceiling, and because of the Republicans' refusal to raise taxes. Just like I said earlier, and just like Paul Krugman warned.

Will: ...that is WASN'T about the need to construct a grand bargain...

It wasn't... and I'm very glad that didn't happen.

dmarks said...

I kind of miss the zip code guy's massive screeds of psuedoscience.

Dervish Sanders said...

dmarks: I kind of miss the zip code guy's massive screeds of psuedoscience.

Psuedoscience? Is this another word you've redefined? Let me guess... it means someone who puts forward solid facts... but dmarks disagrees regardless?

Mordechai said...

Psuedoscience?

anything faux news or rush limbaugh is currently attacking with no basis in fact.

dummy M is that kind of guy.