Krugman: 'Zombie economic ideas have eaten' Marco Rubio's brain

[Newsjock]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/opinion/krugman-rubio-and-the-zombies.html

The State of the Union address was not, I’m sorry to say, very interesting. True, the president offered many good ideas. But we already know that almost none of those ideas will make it past a hostile House of Representatives.

On the other hand, the G.O.P. reply, delivered by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, was both interesting and revelatory. And I mean that in the worst way. For Mr. Rubio is a rising star, to such an extent that Time magazine put him on its cover, calling him “The Republican Savior.” What we learned Tuesday, however, was that zombie economic ideas have eaten his brain.

... In fairness to Mr. Rubio, what he’s saying isn’t any different from what everyone else in his party is saying. But that, of course, is what’s so scary.

For here we are, more than five years into the worst economic slump since the Great Depression, and one of our two great political parties has seen its economic doctrine crash and burn twice: first in the run-up to crisis, then again in the aftermath. Yet that party has learned nothing; it apparently believes that all will be well if it just keeps repeating the old slogans, but louder.

[Jim__]

1. Krugman is a great voice for reason. - n/t

[pampango]

2. "Instead of learning from this experience, however, many on the right have chosen to rewrite history

How typical of republicans. Learning from history might lead them to actually use history as a guide for choosing wise policies for the country.

"What about responding to the crisis? Four years ago, right-wing economic analysts insisted that deficit spending would destroy jobs ... and also insisted that this borrowing would send interest rates soaring. The right thing, they claimed, was to balance the budget, even in a depressed economy. "

4 years have proven that we need(ed) more government spending, not less, to improve the economy and create jobs. (Austerity has not worked anywhere in the world to revive economies.) Interest rates have been at historic lows. And 'balancing the budget in a depressed economy' is a conservative (meaning 'wrong') economic strategy right out of the Herbert Hoover playbook at the beginning of the Great Depression.

"...one of our two great political parties has seen its economic doctrine crash and burn twice: first in the run-up to crisis, then again in the aftermath. Yet that party has learned nothing; it apparently believes that all will be well if it just keeps repeating the old slogans, but louder."

Krugman nails the republican strategy on any issue, not just the economy. "Just keep repeating old slogans... (it helps to have FOX News and Rush to do this), just louder."