Rule by Rentiers [New]
The latest from Paul Krugman at NYTimes.com:
And that explains why creditor interests bulk so large in policy; not only is this the class that makes big campaign contributions, it’s the class that has personal access to policy makers — many of whom go to work for these people when they exit government through the revolving door. The process of influence doesn’t have to involve raw corruption (although that happens, too). All it requires is the tendency to assume that what’s good for the people you hang out with, the people who seem so impressive in meetings — hey, they’re rich, they’re smart, and they have great tailors — must be good for the economy as a whole.
But the reality is just the opposite: creditor-friendly policies are crippling the economy. This is a negative-sum game, in which the attempt to protect the rentiers from any losses is inflicting much larger losses on everyone else. And the only way to get a real recovery is to stop playing that game.
Amen. You’d think the media would be all over this story, even from a human interest standpoint: who are these wealthy individuals and corporations? Which politicians and government heads and their staffers have gotten jobs in the private sector? Who are these college kids having to delay their futures? Who are the long term unemployed? Instead we get crickets. The media, once again, as with the Iraq war buildup, is missing the story and failing in its public duty, never mind failing to inform its readers.
There is a huge, Pulitzer-prize worthy story here. As with the Iraq war buildup.
What Do You Think?
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