Stimulus Fallacies

Paul Krugman has it right here.

Anyway, I don’t believe that it’s all political calculation. Watching Mr. Obama and listening to his recent statements, it’s hard not to get the impression that he is now turning for advice to people who really believe that the deficit, not unemployment, is the top issue facing America right now, and who also believe that the great bulk of deficit reduction should come from spending cuts. It’s worth noting that even Republicans weren’t suggesting cuts to Social Security; this is something Mr. Obama and those he listens to apparently want for its own sake.


Which raises the big question: If a debt deal does emerge, and it overwhelmingly reflects conservative priorities and ideology, should Democrats in Congress vote for it?

Mr. Obama’s people will no doubt argue that their fellow party members should trust him, that whatever deal emerges was the best he could get. But it’s hard to see why a president who has gone out of his way to echo Republican rhetoric and endorse false conservative views deserves that kind of trust.

Now it's clear that more stimulus spending is a hopeless cause.  But it didn't have to be that way- that's a product of choices, in both the policy and politics realms, that didn't have to be made. I blame Obama for not shooting high enough in the interest of being "moderate", and then coming out and telling everyone that the amount of stimulus he did was "just right". So now he's lost his chance, and the subsequent pathetic recovery is going to be blamed on him. Even if he got all the stimulus he could get, if he were saying "I want more of this, but conservatives won't let me have what I want- this will have to do", then it would be easier to argue a liberal point of view now.


Of course the unfortunate (for me) truth is that Obama just isn't a liberal. He's obsessed with being a centrist, as defined as the midpoint between liberals and conservatives. When conservatives went over the cliff, Obama decided to go halfway down the chasm to stay in the middle. And it hasn't helped him politically at all- conservatives still think he's a communist, it doesn't matter how close to their positions he goes.

So I'm madder at Republicans, who I think care more about their electoral victories than about the country's economic health, but I'm pissed at Obama and the Dems too, for not fighting at all for liberal values. If the economy tanks and Republicans sweep in 2012 it will be the Democrats' fault for having no guts.  Liberals can't seem to muster the courage of their convictions.

So as the economy continues to stagger, Republican chances in 2012 keep looking rosier.  And if they win, their Tea Party-dominated crackpot policies will make things even worse and Democrats will be back in 2016. But why should we have to put up with that?