No, the "Maestro" has not yet gone away:
U.S. Debt and the Greece Analogy. Alan Greenspan, WSJ.
An urgency to rein in budget deficits seems to be gaining some traction among American lawmakers. If so, it is none too soon.If Al says it, then I'll take the other side; as does Krugman.
That '30s Feeling. Paul Krugman, NYT.
Suddenly, creating jobs is out, inflicting pain is in. Condemning deficits and refusing to help a still-struggling economy has become the new fashion everywhere, including the United States, where 52 senators voted against extending aid to the unemployed despite the highest rate of long-term joblessness since the 1930s.
Many economists, myself included, regard this turn to austerity as a huge mistake. It raises memories of 1937, when F.D.R.’s premature attempt to balance the budget helped plunge a recovering economy back into severe recession.
Seems Obama is more on Krugman's wavelength than on Greenspan's:
Letter from the President to G-20 Leaders. White House.
with typos from the original included, here's an excerpt:
Our highest priority in Toronto must be to safeguard a)ld strengthen the recovery. We worked exceptionally hard to restore growth; we cannot let it falter or lose strength now. This meansthat we should reaffirm our unity of purpose to provide the policy support necessary to keep economic growth strong. It is essential that we have a self-sustaining recovery that creates the good jobs that our people need. In fact, should confidence in the strength of our recoveries diminish, we should be prepared to respond again as quickly and as forcefully as needed to aveli a slowdown in economic activity.
This does not look good. David Beckworth.
Today's BP link:
Five crucial moves by BP: Did they lead to Gulf oil spill disaster? Christian Science Monitor.
BP made five crucial decisions in the name of saving money that may have contributed to the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Assholes!
something different:
The Ten Most Disturbing Scientific Discoveries. Smithsonian.
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