is the title of this column posted today for tomorrowy's New York Times
Those who are hating are the Republicans, including Mitt Romney, who apparently did not like the changed policy of the Fed as announced by Bernanke this past week. Or as Krugman puts in his second paragraph:
Now, many people on the right have long been obsessed with the notion that we’ll be facing runaway inflation any day now. The surprise was how readily Mitt Romney joined in the craziness.
the craziness - interesting phrasing, eh?
The column provides a clear, plain language explanation of what the Fed is doing and why:
In plain English, the Fed is more or less promising that it won’t start raising interest rates as soon as the economy looks better, that it will hold off until the economy is actually booming and (perhaps) until inflation has gone significantly higher.
The idea here is that by indicating its willingness to let the economy rip for a while, the Fed can encourage more private-sector spending right away. Potential home buyers will be encouraged by the prospect of moderately higher inflation that will make their debt easier to repay; corporations will be encouraged by the prospect of higher future sales; stocks will rise, increasing wealth, and the dollar will fall, making U.S. exports more competitive.
There is more - although you might do well to simply read - and of course pass on - the Krugman piece now that it is available online.
Krugman is blunt, noting that Romney's criticism of the Fed move echoes the language of
the “liquidationists” of the 1930s, who argued against doing anything to mitigate the Great Depression.
He accuses Romney of having no real plan to create wealth, since his ideas seem to consist only of having less environmental protection and lower taxes on the wealthy.
Moreover, he points out that we have heard this before - from McCain in 2008 and Bush in 2004, which given some of those advising Romney should not surprise us.
Remember that a majority of Americans still blame Bush for the current economic problems of the nation, which is why Romney's attempts to defeat Obama solely by focusing on the economy have failed miserably, as was seen by the President suffering no ill effects in his polling numbers as a result of the weak job numbers released 9 days ago.
So let me push fair use just a bit if I may, because Krugman's final paragraph really twists the stiletto he has already inserted between Romney's ribs:
So last week we learned that Ben Bernanke is willing to listen to sensible critics and change course. But we also learned that on economic policy, as on foreign policy, Mitt Romney has abandoned any pose of moderation and taken up residence in the right’s intellectual fever swamps.
Remember, Romney has promised to get rid of Bernanke. But Bernanke's policy was opposed by only 1 member of the Fed Board voting on the proposals. And the markets did not tank because there was a commitment to stick to the policy until the economy recovers.
And Krugman is absolute right on Romney's policy directions
- we saw Paul Ryan somewhat released
- a variety of outlets are saying the campaign is going to move more in that direction
- the campaign is responding to the shots fired at them at the Values Voters Summit, like the words of Brian Fisher of the American Family Association
There is no doubt that Mitt Romney has b>abandoned any pose of moderation - remember that in the primaries he described himself as "a severely conservative" governor (hah) and every time he says anything even hinting of moderation his campaign walks it back within hours
But it is the end of the final sentence that really grabs me, that Romney has taken up residence in the right’s intellectual fever swamps.
Polls make it clear that most of the policies of that intellectual swamp are rejected by the American people. All day I have been noting in tweets and in comments here that I really hope that the Romney campaign moves further to the right, because it will alienate independents (and who knows, maybe even what few sensible Republicans are left).
But I was thinking of social policies.
Krugman points out how much Romney is turning back to failed economic policies of the past. The Obama campaign must be liking this very much.
That the other side is "Hating on Ben Bernanke" should not surprise us, because so much of the right only knows how to operate from hate. And Praise the Lord (and pass the ammunition) that is not what the American public wants to hear.