A slightly off-center perspective on monetary problems.
Not from The Onion:
A project to repair the iconic Capitol Dome could stay on track and NASA would be protected from the harshest effects of the automatic cuts, known in Washington-speak as a sequester.
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17 Responses to “Don’t worry, the GOP will protect essential services”
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5. March 2013 at 13:37
As Yglesias points out, the GOP has a very predictable way of defining what services are “essential”:
“Will Paul Ryan Cut Spending on the Elderly?”
http://slate.me/15vv64l
5. March 2013 at 13:45
TravisV:
Why do you keep citing Yglesias? He’s been a consistent underperformer.
“from the harshest effects of the automatic cuts, known in Washington-speak as a sequester.”
Someone should tell Andrew Taylor of the AP that there aren’t any spending cuts planned in the sequester, but rather just a reduction in planned increase in spending.
5. March 2013 at 14:14
TravisV, What terrified me was the comment that they may have to go after those born in the mid-1950s. I was born in 1955.
First they came for the millenials . . .
5. March 2013 at 14:27
Prof. Sumner,
Unfortunately, it won’t be clear to most readers that you’re joking. Sometimes it’s hard to convey sarcasm over the Internet……
5. March 2013 at 17:24
“Someone should tell Andrew Taylor of the AP that there aren’t any spending cuts planned in the sequester, but rather just a reduction in planned increase in spending.”
I always thought this was an exercise in semantics, especially considering that a reduction in planned increases in spending to levels below the growth rate would lead to a decrease in the deficit. So a ‘cut’ in spending that was just a reduction in planned future spending increases could actually lead to an actual cut in the deficit.
Seems to me more accurate to talk about it in terms of the future path of the deficit…. but 6 of one, half a dozen the other I guess.
5. March 2013 at 19:23
I guess I don’t understand all the glum GOP faces. The sequester is really their shining, drown-the-baby-in-the-bathtub-moment. They should be dancing little jigs on the Capitol steps, like: ‘Tainted meat for everybody, YAY!!! #magicofthemarketplace #suckitcommies’
5. March 2013 at 21:24
Part of why Schiller hasn’t done so well in recent years is that there has been a lot less volatility since the market bottomed out back in March, 2009.
In general the market since then has been really hard to make money with any sort of aggressive trading strategies.
Ironically, buy and hold has had a comeback-in 2008 the guys on Fast Money on CNBC were proclaiming buy and hold dead- as if you simply bought a bunch of stocks then and held on you’d bee looking pretty good right now.
5. March 2013 at 21:25
Schiller’ whole approach is about volatility.
5. March 2013 at 21:26
Oops these posts are in the wrong spot. Yes I agree Xtopher it should be their shining hour shouldn’t it?
6. March 2013 at 03:59
I know this puts me out of step with most on this site, but I happen to think we should spend money fixing the Capitol Dome and on space exploration. Scientific research too.
What we shouldn’t do is try to send every kid in the country to college and then forgive their “loans” after 10 years, or spend unlimited amounts on health care, or let people go their whole lives saving nothing and then fund their retirements.
6. March 2013 at 06:11
Negation, I certainly agree with your second paragraph.
6. March 2013 at 06:53
Negation of Ideology and Prof. Sumner,
Does Denmark or Sweden try to send every kid in the country to college and then forgive their “loans” after 10 years, spend unlimited amounts on health care, or let people go their whole lives saving nothing and then fund their retirements?
6. March 2013 at 07:56
We’re spending more money than last year. People are acting like we cut spending 20% or something.
6. March 2013 at 08:06
TravisV,
In order: yes, yes (except where gov’t rations), and yes.
What’s interesting about Sweden and Nordic countries generally is how decentralized they are — most decisions are made locally, voucherization is common, litigation rare, and they have legendarily low levels of corruption. They’ve also reduced government from about 70% of the economy to around 50% after suffering a meltdown in the early 1990s.
6. March 2013 at 10:16
TallDave,
Thanks for your answer. It’s really not very clear whether Prof. Sumner likes or dislikes the healthcare, pension and education systems in Denmark and Sweden.
6. March 2013 at 19:45
Scott, seriously you don’t think NASA is a high-return investment???
7. March 2013 at 07:17
TravisV, I’ve done lots of posts on the Nordics–I love the voucher system in Sweden and Denmark.
Saturos, NASA is either a very low return investment (most likely), or a high return on average, but near zero return at the margin investment. Either way it should be cut, with zero spending on manned space flight.