Krugman's Obama Would be Like 'Franklin Delano'

Business & Media Institute ^ | 1/21/2009 | Julia A. Seymour

[Julia A. Seymour]

It is unclear where President Barack Obama will lead the United States of America – besides $825 billion or so deeper in debt if he approves the House Democrats’ stimulus package.

But what is clear is the direction liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wants Obama to take: toward an FDR expansion of government. Within days of Obama’s electoral victory Krugman wrote a column titled: “Franklin Delano Obama."

Although he has no official advisory role, Krugman himself has said he will be influential in shaping policy. In a Dec. 6 interview, Krugman said “I probably can have as much influence, as say on the shape of this upcoming economic stimulus package from where I am as I could if I were, you know, the third-ranking member of the Obama economics team.”

Krugman even wrote a 3,000-plus word letter to President Obama telling him what he “must do” in the pages of Rolling Stone magazine Jan. 14. In it, Krugman urged Obama to temporarily “nationalize” banks, ignore budget deficits, and calculated that roughly $800 billion of government spending would be needed:

“You probably have to spend $800 billion a year to achieve a full economic recovery. Anything less than $500 billion a year will be much too little to produce an economic turnaround,” Krugman said. That was a $200 billion increase from Krugman’s own Nov. 14 “back-of-the-envelope” calculation of how “huge” the package should be.

In November, Krugman wondered if Obama’s people would “dare” to propose a package of that scale ($600 billion). Obama’s $775 billion proposal topped that. Yet the columnist recently criticized the current House Democrats’ stimulus proposal of $825 billion as not being enough to save the economy. He hasn’t said how much higher the stimulus package should be.

[stanz]

I feel like reporting abuse..this article abuses my sensibilities...Now we have a NY Slimes hack making policy...but I guess we always did...more now than ever.
The era of Big Brother is a reality.

[Steamburg]

I think Obambi is far closer to Hewey P. “Kingfish” Long. You have to read his works particularly about spreading the wealth.
Check out http://www.hueylong.com/

[Hacklehead]

“Krugman’s Obama Would be Like ‘Franklin Delano’”

A cripple who put hundreds of thousands of Americans in concentration camps and knowingly allowed millions of Jews to be killed?

[LearnsFromMistakes]

Delano? Delano?

I thought the ‘D’ stood for Dipstick...or maybe Doorknob. Delano...who’da known...

[D-fendr]

I guess this means muslims will be put in internment camps soon...

[youngidiot]

I heard Krugman on the radio the other day and it was all I could do to keep from swallowing my tongue. The man is an idiot.