Dean Baker: DC Press Corps Spins Itself Silly Over Sanders’ Specifics

[Ferd Berfel]

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/04/07/dc-press-corps-spins-itself-silly-over-sanders-specifics

The Washington press corps has gone into one of its great feeding frenzies over Bernie Sanders’ interview with New York Daily News. Sanders avoided specific answers to many of the questions posed, which the DC gang are convinced shows a lack of the knowledge necessary to be president.

Among the frenzied were the Washington Post‘s Chris Cillizza, The Atlantic‘s David Graham and Vanity Fair‘s Tina Nguyen, with CNN‘s Dylan Byers telling about it all. Having read the transcript of the interview, I would say that I certainly would have liked to see more specificity in Sanders’ answers, but I’m an economist. And some of the complaints are just silly.

When asked how he would break up the big banks, Sanders said he would leave that up to the banks. That’s exactly the right answer. The government doesn’t know the most efficient way to break up JP Morgan; JP Morgan does. If the point is to downsize the banks, the way to do it is to give them a size cap and let them figure out the best way to reconfigure themselves to get under it.

(snip)
And the fact that Sanders didn’t know the specific statute—who cares?

(snip)
"The DC press corps that goes nuts because Bernie Sanders doesn’t know the name of the statute under which he would prosecute bank fraud thinks a guy who calls for eliminating most of the federal government (Paul Ryan) is a great budget wonk.

[pansypoo53219]

1. BUTBUTBUT bernie is making the gnewz media WERK. they do NOT like werking.

[snowy owl]

2. If Baker had the following of Krugman, America would be in a lot less trouble.

He doesn't get the press - seems liberal economists do not.

[Ferd Berfel]

4. aint that the truth

[kristopher]

3. K&R