Get real

[bakedweasels]

When a smart guy like Barack Obama says something nakedly disingenuous like "We can't cut our way to prosperity" it makes me want to strangle him. What CAN we do on our way to prosperity? Spend? Spend borrowed money? Pay the highest health care costs for elderly in the world? Can we TAX our way to prosperity

Comments

[psychohist]

Maybe he's not as smart as he's made out to be.

[bakedweasels]

I'm willing to give him credit for a lot of intelligence. I just think that makes it even worse...it's not that he's dumb, it's that he's "sneaky political cunning" smart when he should be "visionary statesman" smart. A bit disappointing from a guy who told me 3 months ago he'd never run for election again.

You can't have everything, I guess. I thought his post-Newtown speech was one of the best pieces of political oratory I've heard live, and if he follows up on it I'll be happy. I just wish that when it came to fiscal policy I could have...well, ANYTHING that was informed by a thoughtful consideration of longer-term needs.

[psychohist]

I'm just following the "never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity" rule. Granted it can be wrong at times.

The Republicans in the House (but not the Senate) have proposed some things that address long term fiscal concerns - things like raising the social security and medicare retirement age by a couple of years, limiting per person medicare and medicaid growth to no more than inflation, etc. - but then their leadership doesn't fight for it in negotiations with the Senate and the White House.

[kirisutogomen]

I think I can give Obama credit for being relatively intelligent while believing that he's sincere in his statement. More and more I'm coming to the conclusion that we're all idiots and that the only way any of us ever does anything right is by surrounding ourselves with smart people willing to disagree with us.

[bakedweasels]

But what about Lee Kuan Yew?

I think the problem is not lack of awareness ( = sincerity in such a silly statement), but viewing everything through a political lens. Obama is surrounded by people who disagree with him and are arguably smart...he just can't transcend party politics to get statesmanlike things accomplished. And I know it's a lot to ask, but why did I vote for him if he can't/won't even TRY?

[kirisutogomen]

> But what about Lee Kuan Yew?

Oh, he doesn't count. Lee Kuan Yew is actually the God of Capital Formation taken human form.

You may be right about Obama, but I think you may be over-discounting the effect of economic thinking, by which I mean the style of analysis prompted by some background in academic economics. Remember this? There are some very smart people in there making some very silly statements in perfect sincerity.

There's something kind of poisonous to the mind when it frames the world in terms of power imbalances and good guys vs. bad guys. Not that those things don't exist or aren't relevant, but they're a terrible paradigm to build your entire worldview on.

[bakedweasels]

God, that link depresses me all over again. You're certainly right on that, and it's true that the President (who has as at least as many different items on his plate as the typical American, albeit on a vast scale) may be as ignorant of economics/finance/fiscal issues as many Americans are of their own budget/balance sheet. I just find it surprising if so. And in the case of Obama, I don't really believe it.

But your point is well taken.