Post #428,366
4/12/19 9:53:05 AM
4/12/19 9:53:05 AM
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Trump Goes Beyond Cronyism—To Something Far Worse
If Herman Cain and Stephen Moore are confirmed to the Federal Reserve, it would hardly be the first time that unqualified people ended up in positions of national importance. It is a fact of political life that all governments, of every kind, are infested with hacks and cronies. Indeed, in the United States it is something of a tradition that ambassadors are sent to countries about which they know nothing, and that men and women are appointed to agencies and bureaus whose missions they don’t understand. Money and friendship often count more than competence when it comes to the grubby business of winning elections, and successful candidates pay their debts one way or another.
Donald Trump’s administration, however, has transcended cronyism and declared a war on expertise, in which unbiased knowledge is itself somehow politically suspect if it does not accord with President Trump’s beliefs and assertions—and especially if it conflicts with his personal interests. In this administration, complicated issues are not problems to be solved or tasks to be administered for the public good, but threats to be hammered down by alert sycophants. As the Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro once put it: “My function, really, as an economist is to try to provide the underlying analytics that confirm his intuition. And his intuition is always right in these matters.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/moore-and-cain-nominations-reach-new-level-cronyism/586831/?utm_medium=offsite&utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=yahoo-non-hosted&yptr=yahoo
Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.
- - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
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Post #428,369
4/12/19 10:29:08 AM
4/12/19 10:29:08 AM
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I'm beginning to think this republic will not survive.
The experiment has lasted longer than some would have predicted. But I think it is finally coming to an end. Half the country will rejoice - the "Dust Bowl" half; the other have will form new unions and become even more wealthy than they are already. bcnu,
Mikem
It's mourning in America again.
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Post #428,372
4/12/19 12:45:58 PM
4/12/19 12:45:58 PM
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Caine was chairman of the fed reserve bank in Kansas back in the day
its not like he has zero experience "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
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Post #428,391
4/13/19 12:29:44 PM
4/13/19 12:29:44 PM
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Yup. As DeLong said, what's scary about these two is that Caine was more qualified than Moore.
https://www.bradford-delong.com/2019/04/this-identity-politics-stuff-is-killing-america.htmlThis Identity Politics Stuff is Killing America...
There is an argument that somebody who has built a food-processing and consumer-service business and met its payroll—like Herman Cain—should be on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, in order to keep the staff and the other Governors reality-based in the sense that it would force them to explain themselves to somebody whose experience is in the real and not the financial economy. There is no argument that Herman Cain is the best businessman for the slot.
There is no argument at all that Stephen Moore—whose qualification is having played an economist on TV, and being willing to dump whatever of his previous policy positions (free trade? TPP? gold standard? anything else?) over the side whenever his political masters demand—belongs on the Fed.
The pro-Moore pro-Cain pieces that are currently being planted are reduced to closing with "Moore and Cain would only be two of 12 FOMC votes". But Republicans—save Greg Mankiw and Ross Douthat—are in lockstep behind them. Well—almost in lockstep. Herman Cain is the stronger (not strong) candidate. Republican Senators Kevin Cramer (ND), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Cory Gardner (CO), and Mitt Romney (UT) are for Moore and against Cain.
This identity politics stuff is killing America:
Jim Bianco: The Fed Would Benefit from Stephen Moore, Herman Cain: "Policymaking positions should help determine policy, not act as a rubber stamp for the staff or Chairman. They should hold divergent views, come from different backgrounds and be ready to explain themselves. Policy makers should be given the resources to flesh out their ideas. If confirmed, Moore and Cain would only be two of 12 FOMC votes. Their unique perspectives could make the Fed a stronger institution... (See the original for the embedded link.) Caine is a kooky toady crank, Moore is an insane toady crank. Cheers, Scott.
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Post #428,393
4/13/19 5:37:17 PM
4/13/19 5:37:17 PM
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you ever spoken to Cain or just read about him?
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
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Post #428,395
4/13/19 8:13:35 PM
4/13/19 8:13:35 PM
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"Uzbekibekistanstan" "9-9-9"
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Post #428,396
4/13/19 11:43:03 PM
4/13/19 11:43:03 PM
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9-9-9 interesting
the link is a "lets throw poo at the wall and shout that poo stinks"
9-9-9 was always a starting point to a tax overhaul.
too bad the democratic idea for a tax overhaul is tax the rich at 70% while democrats also state that anyone making over 50k a year is rich. Not much of a distinction there.
My ask was a just a curious since you live sorta near the seat of power and didnt know if you managed to bump into people inadvertently. I talked to him once to cure him of his misunderstanding about the business on the air and a couple of times in person off the cuff in the ATL area. Nice enough person off the mike. Didnt have the pizazz of a kennedy but wasn't a numbnuts like a lot of other DC folks I have bumped into over the years. "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
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Post #428,397
4/14/19 8:20:00 AM
4/14/19 8:20:00 AM
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Who cares if he's a nice guy off the mike?
What counts is the policies he'll try to pass. I don't need to meet him to know those.
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Post #428,410
4/15/19 2:23:26 PM
4/15/19 2:23:26 PM
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why not tax the rich at 70% ?
the top tax rate under Eisenhower was 90% and American businesses and rich folks didn't stop trying to better the economy then.
Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.
- - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
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Post #428,415
4/15/19 4:13:17 PM
4/15/19 4:13:17 PM
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Thou sayest. ..thence came Prez Ronnie and ...
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Post #428,439
4/16/19 11:28:40 AM
4/16/19 11:28:40 AM
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give me the number that you claim as rich 50k per year? less?
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
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Post #428,441
4/16/19 12:39:23 PM
4/16/19 12:39:23 PM
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Household 450K/year
bcnu,
Mikem
It's mourning in America again.
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Post #428,444
4/16/19 1:49:14 PM
4/16/19 1:49:14 PM
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you sure all of the dems agree on that number?
I have heard 40-50k a year being pointed out as rich "Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" – Richard Feynman
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Post #428,445
4/16/19 2:30:13 PM
4/16/19 2:30:13 PM
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Where? If that's household income that's bottom half.
bcnu,
Mikem
It's mourning in America again.
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Post #428,454
4/16/19 4:55:52 PM
4/16/19 4:55:53 PM
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Re: you sure all of the dems agree on that number?
I have heard 40-50k a year being pointed out as rich
Not from any Democrat that I know of.
Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.
- - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
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Post #428,459
4/16/19 6:38:03 PM
4/16/19 6:38:03 PM
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Citation needed.
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Post #428,377
4/12/19 5:33:34 PM
4/12/19 5:33:34 PM
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Thankfully it's being withdrawn
Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.
- - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
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Post #428,390
4/13/19 8:42:12 AM
4/13/19 8:42:12 AM
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"Awwww Shucky Ducky Now"
Alex
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
-- Isaac Asimov
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