Sunday, May 23, 2010

Paul Krugman's "The Old Enemies": No Mention of Those 65 and Older

In an op-ed in today's New York Times entitled "The Old Enemies" (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/opinion/24krugman.html?hp), Paul Krugman informs us that the Obama administration is facing anger being exploited by corporate interests. According to Krugman:

"Roosevelt turned corporate opposition into a badge of honor: 'I welcome their hatred,' he declared. It’s time for President Obama to find his inner F.D.R., and do the same."

The problem with this analogy is that despair with the Obama presidency is not limited to corporations. As recently observed by Gallup, Obama's approval in the fifth quarter of his presidency ranked among the lowest fifth-quarter averages for elected presidents.

As further recently observed by Gallup, Obama's job approval rating among those who are 65 years and older is only 43%. Do these Americans indeed qualify as "The Old Enemies"? Should Obama also welcome their acute dissatisfaction?

Sorry, Paul, but Obama is no Roosevelt, and I don't foresee any "fireside chats" from Obama, who has lost his rapport with a majority of Americans.

While smearing corporate America in broad-brush fashion, Krugman conveniently ignores the inordinate donations of Goldman Sachs to none other than Obama.

Corporate cultures vary widely, and there is no justification to villify all of corporate America in this manner. Would Krugman really seek to dismantle the likes of Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, General Electric, IBM and Apple and turn them, and the rest of corporate America, into cottage industry? One can only wonder about the effect on unemployment, technological progress and U.S. economic leadership.

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