Paul Krugman - The Undeserving Rich (NYT)

Interesting opinion piece by Paul.

The reality of rising American inequality is stark. Since the late 1970s real wages for the bottom half of the work force have stagnated or fallen, while the incomes of the top 1 percent have nearly quadrupled (and the incomes of the top 0.1 percent have risen even more). While we can and should have a serious debate about what to do about this situation, the simple fact — American capitalism as currently constituted is undermining the foundations of middle-class society — shouldn’t be up for argument.

The story goes like this: America’s affluent are affluent because they made the right lifestyle choices. They got themselves good educations, they got and stayed married, and so on. Basically, affluence is a reward for adhering to the Victorian virtues.

And who are these lucky few? Mainly they’re executives of some kind, especially, although not only, in finance. You can argue about whether these people deserve to be paid so well, but one thing is clear: They didn’t get where they are simply by being prudent, clean and sober.

Again, I know that these realities make some people, not all of them hired guns for the plutocracy, uncomfortable, and they’d prefer to paint a different picture. But even if the facts have a well-known populist bias, they’re still the facts — and they must be faced.

Read it all
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/opini ... yt&emc=rss

Contrast Paul's argument (you won't know his argument unless you read the whole article, not just my excerpts) with this...

The event was First Lady Michelle Obama's 50th birthday party. According to reports in People, the Chicago Tribune, TMZ, US Magazine, and elsewhere, among of the attendees were, in no particular order: Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Janelle Monae, Mary J. Blige, Angela Bassett, Courtney Vance, Herbie Hancock, Samuel L. Jackson, Grant Hill, Alonzo Mourning, Ledisi, Emmett Smith, Star Jones, Al Roker, Steve Harvey, Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, Michael Jordan, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, Gayle King, Ahmad Rashad, Kal Penn, and Ashley Judd. Among the current and former government officials attending were Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Susan Rice, Eric Holder, and Kathleen Sebelius.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/white-hou ... _click=rss

You do the math Paul. I know you can. You're an "economist."

Krugman is such an over rated idiot, just another fluff piece of psycho-babble that says pretty much nothing new. Must be a great gig teaching at these Ivy league colleges and having lots of spare time to write political hack pieces for the NYT on the side.

I saw the new staging of Evita last night, the 2012 Broadway revival, now on tour. I've seen the show (since seeing the original Broadway production in the 70's twice) at least 8 times, and this time all I could see on stage was the Obama administration.

In 35 years of off and on viewing of this show, I never felt compelled to compare the story on stage to our American politics or politicians.

Reading about Michelle's lavish birthday party, all the while as Obama has been screeching about inequality, only strengthened my comparison last night.


[Eva:]
There again I've more to do
Than simply get the message through
I haven't started
Let's get this show on the road
Let's make it obvious
Peron is off and rolling

[Chorus:]

[Eva's dressers:]
Eyes, hair, mouth, figure
Dress, voice, style, movement
Hands, magic, rings, glamour
Face, diamonds, excitement, image

[Eva:]
I came from the people, they need to adore me
So Christian Dior me from my head to my toes
I need to be dazzling, I want to be Rainbow High
They must have excitement, and so must I

[Eva's dressers:]
Eyes, hair, mouth, figure
Dress, voice, style, image

[Eva:]
I'm their product, it's vital you sell me
So Machiavell me, make an Argentine Rose
I need to be thrilling, I want to be Rainbow High
They need their escape, and so do I

[chorus]

[Eva:]
All my descamisados expect me to outshine the enemy
I won't disappoint them
I'm their savior, that's what they call me
So Lauren Bacall me, anything goes
To make me fantastic, I have to be Rainbow High
In magical colors

You're not decorating a girl for a night on the town
And I'm not a second-rate queen getting kicks with a crown

Next stop will be Europe
The Rainbow's gonna tour, dressed up, somewhere to go
We'll put on a show

Look out, mighty Europe
Because you oughta know whatcha gonna get in me
Just a little touch of
Just a little touch of
Argentina's brand of star quality

(Rainbow High from Evita)

And I saw a tweet today that American bosses are saying the current crop of applicants is the least qualified ever. No wonder they aren't finding jobs. They don't have the proper skill sets and wasted their time in schools or schools didn't educate them properly. No wonder wages are stagnant, because the people aren't bringing value to their employers.

And I saw a tweet today that says the Obama administration are hypocrites when they run around the country talking about inequality and at the same time hold a 50th birthday party for Michelle which has a guest list equal to a billionaires Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

I do not tweet. What is up with this "I saw a tweet" thing. Is that supposed to mean it is credible or that it is a joke?

BlazerBob wrote: I do not tweet. What is up with this "I saw a tweet" thing. Is that supposed to mean it is credible or that it is a joke?

1) Michelle did have a 50th birthday party at the WH.
2) The guest list (see original post) was like a billionaires Bar/Bat Mitzvah
3) Twitter = a social messaging system which enables users to "tweet" up to a 144 character message to one or more recipients.

I can supply links if you need them.

Reverend Revelant wrote:

BlazerBob wrote: I do not tweet. What is up with this "I saw a tweet" thing. Is that supposed to mean it is credible or that it is a joke?

1) Michelle did have a 50th birthday party at the WH.
2) The guest list (see original post) was like a billionaires Bar/Bat Mitzvah
3) Twitter = a social messaging system which enables users to "tweet" up to a 144 character message to one or more recipients.

I can supply links if you need them.

So saying "I saw a tweet" is the cyber equivalent to saying I heard someone at the bus stop say "_______" ?

Do I have to have an account to follow someone on Twitter? An investor I follow just got banished from the site I followed him at and shifted his flag to Twitter.

BlazerBob wrote:

Reverend Revelant wrote:

BlazerBob wrote: I do not tweet. What is up with this "I saw a tweet" thing. Is that supposed to mean it is credible or that it is a joke?

1) Michelle did have a 50th birthday party at the WH.
2) The guest list (see original post) was like a billionaires Bar/Bat Mitzvah
3) Twitter = a social messaging system which enables users to "tweet" up to a 144 character message to one or more recipients.

I can supply links if you need them.

So saying "I saw a tweet" is the cyber equivalent to saying I heard someone at the bus stop say "_______" ?

Actually no, because a tweet is on the net, and if it's on the net, it must be true. Bus stop people are notorious liars.